The Girl Who Played With Fire
by ladyimperex
Summary: Scarlett is just a normal witch who's life gets turned upside-down when she befriends a certain Harry Potter.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I do not own Harry Potter, I only own Scarlett, Elya and Oliver.**

* * *

It was only 7am and Scarlett stood in the middle of her living room facing her parents staring at the letter in her hand; she had re-read it about fifteen times now.

_Dear Miss Lawton,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._  
_Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_  
_Deputy Headmistress_

"What's the matter, dear?" asked a voice which snapped Scarlett back into reality, it was her mother, Elya.  
"Oh, nothing, I've been accepted into Hogwarts that's all." Scarlett was beaming at this point. Her mother had told her a ridiculous amount of times that she would get her letter soon. Scarlett however had not been entirely convinced for some odd reason.

* * *

"Oh our little baby all grown up going to Hogwarts!" Elya squealed as she squeezed Scarlett's shoulders, making her wince slightly.  
"Goodness sake Elya," her father, Oliver grunted as he set his news paper on the coffee table "you're acting as if we've won the Wizard Jackpot!" Elya simply glared at Oliver, making him shiver a little and return to his paper.  
"You know Mom, I have to reply, where's Speckles?" Scarlett asked as she turned to the door to go search for Speckles. He often got lost in the mansion.  
"SPECKLES!" boomed her father's voice, Scarlett nearly had a heart attack.  
"Hooottt whooooo" was the reply that came from the kitchen, "Bloody bird." murmured Oliver, a little too loudly as Elya smacked his arm "Watch your mouth!" she screeched nodding her head to Scarlett. "Right. Sorry _ma'am_." He smirked at her and she rolled her eyes.

At this point Scarlett decided to retreat upstairs.

* * *

Scarlett was aimlessly wondering upstairs and she stood in the bathroom now, just staring in the mirror, her jet-black hair falling to her waist. Scarlett stepped closer to the mirror and stared at her reflection, the way her heart shaped lips seemed to tilt slightly, the way her petit nose wrinkled briefly when she breathed, the way her eyes looked unique and up-turned very slightly. The doctors we're baffled over what eye colour she had. It was sort of a fiery red. She gasped as she noticed her eyes seemed to _move!_ She turned away from the mirror.  
_'Probably just a trick of the light' _she thought and tried to convinced herself that was what it was, but the more she tried to convince herself, the more she thought about it.

* * *

"So then, dear," her mother started as she set breakfast on the table, Elya preferred to home cook than have a house elf "when do you want to go to Diagon Alley?"  
Scarlett grinned from ear to ear, she had been waiting for her mother to ask her all day. "Whenever you want, Mom." Scarlett was so excited she hadn't realised that her food was already in front of her, normally she would have already finished.  
Scarlett watched curiously as her mother glanced over to the very odd clock on the wall, the one which Scarlett swore had about forty hands.  
"Well, it's 9am now." She burst into a fit of giggles when she looked over at Scarlett who was practically bouncing in her seat. "So I think we could go today. Only if you promise to behave." Her mother spoke, it came out more of a threat than a warning.  
"Okay!" shouted Scarlett making Elya visibly wince, Scarlett shot an apologetic look at her mother as she shoved some bacon into her mouth.

* * *

Scarlett was astonished at the sight of Diagon Alley; her parents had never taken her as they had not wanted to ruin the surprise of her going when she got her acceptance letter. "Oh my goodness!" she stood mouth open wide as her mother led her into Gringotts Wizarding Bank.  
She immediately closed her mouth out of respect when stepping into Gringotts. She followed her mother up to the desk. Scarlett peered at the goblin that stood before her "Greeting Griphook, I would like to access my vault, number 567." Her mother held out a small key which the goblin, Griphook, took. He then led Scarlett and her mother to a cart, Scarlett looked at her mother confused, her mother just nodded and took her hand and held it tight. She gave her a 'do not worry' look which made Scarlett very nervous. Suddenly the cart started moving; eventually it was going so quickly Scarlett thought she was surely going to fly out. After about a minute the cart stopped and Scarlett got up, wobbling. She was sure her legs would collapse under her; her mother noticed and scooped Scarlett up out of the cart giving Griphook a nod. Scarlett turned to look at the huge door that stood before her, watching as it opened. Her mother lightly pushed her forward into the vault,"Oh my!" gasped Scarlett, there were thousands of galleons, even some cups, jewels, swords and even a little handheld mirror_. _Scarlett moved closer to the mirror and her mother noticed, she picked up the mirror and handed it to Scarlett who traced the silver around the mirror,  
"I want you to take this to Hogwarts with you. Keep it very safe. It will prove well." Her mother smiled.  
"Have you brought your own bag or will you need one, Ma'am?" asked the impatient goblin who was standing at the door.  
"We will need a bag, please." Smiled Elya, the goblin handed her a bag and soon it was full of galleons,  
"Mom will we really need that much?" asked Scarlett, eyes wide as saucers.  
"Believe me, Scarlett. We will. After all, this is all for you." Her mother smirked as Scarlett rolled her eyes.

* * *

**A/N: Well thanks for reading! I hope you rate and that you like it. Maybe a few certain special people will make an appearance in the next chapter, you'll have to wait and see.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I still only own Scarlett, Elya, Oliver and the raven bird.**

* * *

As Scarlett stepped out of Gringotts, a very big man approached her, along with a small scrawny little boy, who looked very young.  
"Ye see 'Arry..." trailed off the voice of the large man, Elya turned to Scarlett and saw a most amusing sight of Scarlett wide-eyed, mouth open, staring at the large man who had walked into Gringotts.  
"Hagrid." Whispered Elya, Scarlett turned to her mother and gave her a confused look,  
"What's a Hagrid?" she asked innocently, her mother chuckled and wrapped her arm around her shoulder and led her to the bookstore Flourish & Blotts, she struggled to contain a groan, she hated reading,  
"No, dear. His name is Hagrid." Her mother finally said after she had finished laughing, she realised why it was funny now and chuckled herself,  
"He teaches at Hogwarts, my dear. You'll probably be taught by him." She nodded towards the door or Flourish & Blotts, indicating for Scarlett to go in.

* * *

"All these books, we find here?" asked Scarlett frowning at the paper, she hadn't spotted any of the books on the shelves,  
"Yes, I'll go ask the manager for the books." Elya replied taking the list out of Scarlett's hands and walking over to the man behind the till. Scarlett looked around and felt the spines of some of the books, she yawned into her hand and aimlessly walked around waiting for her mother to return with her books.

* * *

"Alright there, Lawton?" snarled the voice of a boy, Scarlett spun on her heel to face a pale blonde haired boy and his father, Scarlett instantly knew who this was, Draco Malfoy.  
"It's impolite to ignore me, Lawton." Draco smirked at her, she felt the hairs on the back of her head stand up.  
"Malfoy." Nodded Scarlett, she looked up at Lucius,  
_'Bloody hell'_ she thought, she gulped and obviously Draco noticed her nervousness,  
"Looks like the Lawton spawn is scared." Taunted Draco, raising his eyebrow as his father took a step forward to look at Scarlett more closely, Scarlett glared at Draco and then at his dad. Suddenly he stepped back as though he had been burnt,  
"Come, Draco. Don't want to spend time around people like that." Lucius sneered as he guided Draco out of the shop. Scarlett felt an odd sensation inside her but thought nothing of it, she decided enough was enough and went to go find her mother so they could leave. Hopefully she wouldn't bump into Malfoy again that day.

* * *

"Where next?" asked Scarlett peering over at the list curiously,  
"Madam Malkin's." Her mother replied, her mother took in a deep breath and seemed to hold it for a long time and Scarlett knew exactly why, she was a very very skinny girl, it wasn't that she never ate. No, she could eat for the whole of Hogwarts, it's just she was always naturally skinny. Too skinny.  
"Don't worry. You keep your clothes on." Her mother reassured her,  
"Yeah but still my measurements will be tiny!" she snapped back, _Just like Harry Potter. Tiny. _She thought, she knew exactly who the boy was who was with Hagrid. The Boy-Who-Lived.

* * *

"Here are Scarlett's robes, Miss Lawton." Smiled Madam Malkin, she was rather surprised at Scarlett's measurements, however she remembered when Elya was Scarlett's age, and she was tiny too.  
"Thank you, Madam!" smiled Elya, taking the bundle of clothes from Madam Malkin and paid the money,  
"That's a ton of clothes, Mom." Pointed Scarlett as she eyed the pile of clothes,  
"Yes, my dear, yes." Replied Elya not paying much attention to Scarlett, they both made their way through the crowd to get Scarlett's cauldron.

* * *

"There's not much left, is there?" asked Scarlett groaning, this had taken them about five hours already,  
"No, next stop: Magical Menagerie." Elya said holding back a groan, she was sure Scarlett would choose a ridiculous pet. Scarlett practically ran into the shop, her mother trailing behind.  
There were tons of pets; Owls, Rats, Cats, Toads, many different kinds too, however Scarlett knew exactly which pet she wanted – a raven. Scarlett found the perfect one, it was jet-black just like Scarlett's hair,  
"Aye love, that raven's never been sold, she's always nipped anyone who tried to buy her, looks like she taken quite a likin' to you." Noted the owner of the shop.  
"How many Galleons?" Elya was very relieved that Scarlett hadn't brought a rat.  
"Eight, my dear." Smiled the shop owner, as he took the galleons from Elya he shot a glance at Scarlett, the menacing bird had taken quite a liking to her. That had been twice that day that two of the least favourites had been sold. One to her, the other to Harry Potter.

* * *

"Ollivanders." Gasped Scarlett as she stood outside the shop looking up at the sign,  
"Come on then!" exclaimed her mother who was getting quite impatient, she was as excited to see Scarlett's wand as she was.  
"Hello!" smiled Mr Ollivander "You must be a Lawton! Scarlett I believe." He winked at Elya as Scarlett looked dumbfounded at the interior of the shop. And she just nodded her mouth open wide looking around.  
"It's a marvellous sight, all these shocked and excited children." Mr Ollivander smiled, nodding towards Scarlett.  
"Let's get started then!" Scarlett eventually said walking towards the counter.

* * *

Eventually Scarlett found her wand, or rather, her wand found her. It was a Unicorn core wand, it was simple and straight, it had swirls round the handle, rather magnificent.  
"That was amazing." Gasped Scarlett as she walked out of Ollivanders.  
"Yes, I remember getting my wand, it was quite amazing then too." her mother agreed, pulling out her wand and fiddling with it. Scarlett had given her wand to her mother, as she had no pockets and didn't want to accidentally do some magic.  
"Home?" asked Elya, "Home." Smiled Scarlett.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I still only own Oliver, Eyla and Scarlett, and her pet Raven.**

* * *

"And then we went into Ollivander's to get my wand! It was great, Dad! It really was." Scarlett sighed, retelling the events of today in Diagon Alley.  
Oliver smirked at her, she hadn't stopped talking about Diagon Alley since she got back,  
"Yes, dear. Now eat your dinner." Oliver said in a stern tone.  
Scarlett started shovelling her dinner into her mouth; her mother shook her head, clearly amused.  
"Can I be excused now?" she whined sitting on the edge of her chair, ready to sprint upstairs.  
"You may." her father nodded. Her mother just laughed seeing Scarlett racing upstairs as though she was being chased by a bludger.

* * *

Scarlett had missed out the part about seeing Harry Potter with the half-giant, Hagrid. She was now sitting cross-legged on her bed in her room. She reached out to touch the soft gold coloured silk on her quilt. She looked around her room, clearly bored out of her mind.  
The wallpaper was golden with white lines going vertical, and the cream ceiling charmed to show stars at night. She sighed as she got out of bed.  
"Harry Potter." She spoke aloud, she had thought about him ever since she got back, she glanced over at her calendar,  
"Crikey, not long now." She spoke, moving her finger across each of the days until she got to the 1st September. That was about, one month.

* * *

The month went exceptionally quick, it was like a routine; wake up, shower, breakfast, daydream, lunch, daydream, dinner, daydream, bed.  
"Are you ready Scarlett?" her father shouted up the stairs rolling his eyes, he never understood why women and girls took so long,  
"Yes!" she growled back, clearly annoyed at her dad, "I was doing my hair!" she added as she walked down the stairs, she had put her hair into two plaits on either side of her head, they hung forward over her shoulders,  
"Let's go now then!" her mother exclaimed, opening the door to the side of her, the floo room. Scarlett stepped in, the fireplace was huge, enough to fit all of them, she stepped into the fireplace rolling her eyes as her mother held on to her very tight, her father grabbed some floo powder,  
"Kings Cross Station!" he announced throwing the powder beneath all of them.  
It was horrible, Scarlett felt as though she was being pulled through a tiny straw, it wasn't the first time she'd done this, and she felt as though she was being ripped in half, finally, it stopped and there they were, Kings Cross Station.

* * *

"Are you sure you have everything?" her mother asked curiously eying her luggage, Scarlett could see she was almost crying, she groaned,  
"Yes, mom!" she nodded "I'm going to be late with you trailing behind like that!" she lectured her parents for being slow,  
"Oh, best get on the train then, darling." Her father smiled at her, whilst helping get her luggage on the train, her raven sitting on her shoulder,  
"Come on, Raven get in the cage." She placed her bird in its cage, she sighed, turning to her mother who looked like she was about to burst into tears,  
"I'll be fine!" she groaned, hugging her mother, she turned and got on the train, "Goodbye!" she quickly shouted and closed the door just in time to hear her mother sobbing.

* * *

She felt like she'd been walking up and down the train for hours, she certainly didn't want to sit with Malfoy's clan, but she didn't want to be on her own either, she stopped and nearly gasped at the sight in the compartment beside her; Harry Potter sat, with a ginger boy, she eyed the ginger boy, a Weasley!  
"Have you finished staring at me yet?" a voice snapped Scarlett out of her daydream, she went crimson and shuffled her feet,  
"Are you alright?" piped up another voice, Harry Potter. She stared at him for a moment then at the Weasley, "You can sit with us if you like, and is that okay Ron?" Harry asked the ginger boy; Ron just grunted and then nodded eventually, Scarlett sighed with relief, at least she didn't have to sit on her own she sat next to Ron, next to the window.  
"I'm Scarlett Lawton; I already know who _you_ are." She smirked gesturing towards Harry, who blushed slightly as he pulled his fringe up to show his scar,  
"Harry _Potter._" She chuckled slightly, "Oh yes, I think almost everyone knows who you are, you are very famous, Harry." He blushed even more and looked a lot younger than his age of 11.  
Ron cleared his throat to give some indication he was still there, Scarlett turned to him and smiled "Ron Weasley?" she asked, she had heard much about the Weasley's, the boy nodded and smirked a little, usually people didn't have a clue who he was, clearly Scarlett knew, he shot a look at Harry and they both smiled at each other,  
"What?" she asked suddenly getting self-conscious,  
"Why aren't you with Malfoy?" asked Ron, Harry looked confused, he clearly hadn't met Draco yet, Scarlett gasped and shook her head quickly,  
"I hate Malfoy!" she exclaimed glaring at Ron, then looking at Harry who was confused, "Draco Malfoy is a stuck up pure-blood our age, he's one of the richest wizarding families around, you'll see who he is soon. Blonde hair greased back, expensive robes, rather smelly." Scarlett winked causing Ron and Harry to both giggle. '_One of the richest wizarding families apart from mine_' she thought, but did not add, she hated bragging and whatnot.

* * *

The rest of the train ride, they all played exploding snap and various other games, when a girl appeared at the door just as Ron was going to show them all a spell, Scarlett had no idea who she was,  
She coughed and spoke in a very polite posh accent "Has anyone seen a toad? A boy called Neville's lost one." She glanced at each of the people,  
"No." Ron replied shaking his head, his wand out in his hand, the girl noticed and smirked,  
"Oh are you doing magic? Let's see then." She nodded towards his wand and Ron cleared his throat,  
"Ahem. Sunshine Daises Butter Mellow turn this stupid fat rat yellow!" he exclaimed the tip of his wand touching the rat on his back, making the rat flinch,  
the girl frowned at Ron,  
"Are you sure that's a real spell?" she asked, Ron nodded, "Well it's not a very good one is it? Of course, I've only tried a few simple ones myself buy they've all worked for me. For example; _oculus reparo._" Harry's eyes went wide as his glasses were fixed; he took them off to look at them and smiled at the girl,  
"That's better, isn't it?" she asked her eyes looking up at his forehead and his scar that was visible, the girl stepped back in shock "Holy cricket! You're Harry Potter! I'm Hermione Granger. And you are?" she asked sneering at Ron,  
"I'm Ron Weasley." He sneered back at her, Scarlett struggled to contain a laugh at Ron's face mirroring Hermione's, she turned to Scarlett,  
"Scarlett Lawton." Scarlett extended her hand to shake Hermione's who was now smiling at her, "Pleasure. You lot better change into your robes. I expect we'll be arriving soon. You've got dirt on your nose by the way." She grinned at Ron who was pawing at his face, "Did you know? Just there." she spoke, gesturing at the side of her nose, Ron wiped the dirt away looking sheepishly at her, and she nodded and then walked away. Ron stared at the door for a long time,  
"Well what are you waiting for, come on! Robes on!" Scarlett exclaimed standing up suddenly to retrieve her robes.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Next time is The Sorting Ceremony!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I still only own Elya, Oliver, Scarlett and her raven.**

* * *

"Bloody 'ell!" exclaimed Ron as they approached Hogwarts, Harry was stunned, his mouth wide open and his eyes like saucers. Scarlett was just speechless; she stared at the castle, and then groaned, _'Totally going to get lost' _she thought and then remembered how her mother described the Potions Professor as a _'dark man who is very secretive, and very, very cold-hearted.'_ She put her head in her hands and the boats finally reached their destination. Everyone climbed out and stared up at the castle,  
"Crickey!" a squeak from behind them came, Hermione Granger. Hermione placed her hand on Scarlett's shoulder and she flinched slightly,  
"Sorry." Hermione murmured and Scarlett shook her head,  
"My fault." She giggled causing Hermione to smile, '_I'm bloody stupid, calm down Scarlett.'_ She thought frowning, they we're entering Hogwarts now, walking through the corridors, all the first years footsteps echoing and a few gasps as paintings on the walls would move,  
"Well if it isn't the famous Harry Potter!" a voice shouted at the front, Draco. Scarlett stepped forward,  
"Shove off Malfoy before you regret it." Scarlett threatened,  
Draco and his minions smirked, then he extended his hand out for Harry to shake "I will make sure you get all the fame you deserve"  
Harry stood with his hands firmly at his sides, "No thanks." He sneered and Draco gave him a look of disgust before they we're interrupted,  
"Hello, First Years, and welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Said a female voice and Hermione moved closer to Scarlett.  
"Professor McGonagall. I read all about the Professor's in 'Hogwarts: A History'" Hermione whispered to Scarlett, Hermione was shaking a little, obviously nervous.  
"TREVOR!" a shout came from behind them, and a boy ran forward to grab his toad, he looked up at Professor McGonagall and flinched,  
"Sorry." He quickly whispered and stood back again, Minerva cleared her throat and continued speaking,  
"When we enter the Great Hall, you will wait and be called up to be Sorted." She smiled a little and led everyone in.

* * *

"Draco Malfoy." Professor McGonagall announced and he smirked as he patted his friend on the back, Draco sat on the stall and instantly was sorted  
"SLYTHERIN!" the sorting hat boomed, all of Slytherin cheered and Draco scurried off to his table,  
"Ronald Weasley." Minerva announced, Scarlett had to shove Ron up because he was quite nervous, he had his eyes closed, when finally,  
"GRYFFINDOR!" Ron was very happy about his house and they all cheered for him and high fived George and Fred,  
"Hermione Granger." Was announced and Hermione took a few breaths in and out while walking up,  
"GRYFFINDOR!" all of Gryffindor cheered, Scarlett smiled as they all welcomed Hermione,  
"Harry Potter." Minerva announced and the whole of the Great Hall went silent, a few gasps could be heard, Harry walked up and sat on the stool, after about five minutes the hat finally sorted him,  
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted, all of Gryffindor stood up and cheered including Ron and Hermione,  
"Scarlett Lawton." Was announced, Scarlett gasped and walked forward to sit on the stool,  
_"Ah, Miss Lawton, I remember sorting your mother. It was a hard choice, now where to put you, you could be good in Slytherin, but equally as good in all the other houses... Hmm, hard decision, I have made my decision." _The sorting hat whispered to her,  
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat practically yelled, she was very pleased she would be with Hermione, Harry and Ron.

* * *

"Welcome to the Gryffindor common room!" the prefect smiled, saying the secret word _'Lioness' _the portrait swung open and they all stepped inside, it was beautiful, lots of red colours, red couches in front of a roaring fire, a little study corner and spiralling stairs up to the dorms, "Curfew is 8pm." The prefect added; Scarlett was sure he was a Weasley, but she couldn't be sure.  
"It's amazing." Whispered Hermione, Ron and Harry nodded in agreement. Scarlett frowned, staring at the fireplace,  
"Scarlett!" Harry shouted waving his hand in front of her face, "You were staring at the fireplace for several minutes, you know!" Scarlett smiled at Harry and shrugged,  
"D'ya knows when lunch is? I'm starving!" Ron exclaimed rubbing his stomach for effect, Scarlett and Hermione giggled and Harry frowned,  
"You can't _seriously_ be hungry after the amount of sweets we all had on the train!" Harry exclaimed throwing his hands in the air then putting them on his hips, one eyebrow raised as he glared at Ron,  
"I'm always hungry." Ron smirked causing Scarlett to go into a giggle fit.  
Harry and Ron also started giggling, but at the sight of Scarlett's red face from laughing so much. Hermione was already on the couch reading a book.  
"Want to go for a wander?" Scarlett whispered to Ron and Harry, they both nodded instantly with mischievous smiles on their face.  
They stepped out of the common room and walked the corridors for a long time somehow they ended up on the Quidditch pitch, Scarlett ran into the team rooms, Ron and Harry following with raised eyebrows.

* * *

"_Alohamora_" Scarlett whispered, she had heard her mom making this spell hundreds of times and her mother had taught her just before she got to school, Harry and Ron stood back confused as to what she was doing, she opened the door.  
_'Bingo! The broom cupboard!' _she threw a broom to both Ron and Harry, she had one herself and she marched out of the team room and sat on the broom.  
Harry and Ron stood by the team room doors and watched amazed at what she was about to do,  
"You can't do this, Scarlett. It's against the rules!" Harry squeaked, obviously worried about Scarlett.  
"I know. That's why I'm doing it!" she smiled kicking off the ground, she soared high, _too high.  
_"I feel free." She spoke in a dreamy voice,  
_'Crikey! No! Scarlett go back down! You're going to die! Scarlett!' _she told herself but she didn't stop, instead she found herself going higher and higher.  
She couldn't even see the pitch anymore. She felt tears escape her eyes; surely she was going to die now. She couldn't even control what she was doing!  
Suddenly the broom jerked upwards, making Scarlett fly off backwards. She screamed so much she felt like her lungs were about to burst, she could make out the Quidditch pitch now.  
She could see Harry and Ron, they we're on broomsticks too!  
"HAAAAAARRRRYYY!" she managed to scream before complete darkness covered her like a blanket.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Oooh what happened to Scarlett?**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I own nothing apart from Scarlett, her raven, Oliver and Elya (Scarlett's parents.)**

* * *

Scarlett woke and realised she was in a strange large room with lots of beds in it and a huge door at one end, the other end a large window.  
"Miss Lawton." Came a deep baritone voice making her wince slightly, she turned to see a very scary looking man in an armchair beside her.  
She nearly gasped; it was the Potions Teacher that her mother told her about, _Professor Snake? Snipe? Darn, what is his name again?_ The teacher was smirking at her and she didn't like it.  
"Professor?" she managed to croak out, her throat was quite sore, "Where am I?" she asked innocently looking around the room. The Professor still smirking replied,  
"The infirmary."  
"The _what_?" she asked clearly confused, '_what the heck is an Infirmary' _she thought,  
"I think I made myself _very_ clear, Lawton. This is an infirmary. Where injured and sick people go." He sternly replied, the smirk no longer on his face.  
"But I'm neither sick nor injured!" she wailed, she hated going to the doctors as a child.  
"Are you sure about that?" he questioned, the smirk once again returning as he gestured towards her arm. She gasped as she looked at her right arm; it was in a cast, _broken._

* * *

"So I fell off my broom, then Ron and Harry dived up and both caught me but my arm hit Harry's broom and broke?" Scarlett exclaimed, clearly not remembering anything "The last thing I remember is casting Alohamora on the door!"  
Snape nodded, his obsidian eyes seemed to be burning holes through her, a piece of parchment floating next to him writing what Scarlett was saying,  
"Well, as soon as you're better, you will go and see Headmaster Dumbledore to discuss your punishment." He smirked at her as she groaned, _'Just like her father'_ he thought, Severus Snape and Oliver Lawton we're good mates, along with Lily Evans, they we're a good trio, but that is another story.  
Scarlett was looking at Snape rather peculiarly, he seemed to be staring at her, and she was getting quite uncomfortable  
"Sir..." she whispered extending an arm to nudge him out of his daydream, "Sir!" she nudged him and spoke a little louder, suddenly Snape glared down at her extended arm,  
"If you would refrain from touching me, Lawton." He sneered pushing her arm away, he noticed Scarlett's eyes seemed to glow a fierce red as he pushed her away.

* * *

Scarlett was getting much better and by dinner that day, her arm was halfway healed. She was drifting off to sleep when the door to the infirmary opened; Madam Pomfrey was in her office, probably sleeping or something. She forced her eyes open and shifted them to look at the door, "Malfoy?" she whispered into the darkness, however she could make out a short blonde boy standing at the door, the figure approached her bed,  
"_Lumos_." Whispered Draco holding his wand up to his face so that Scarlett could see him,  
"What do you want?" Scarlett growled at Draco narrowing her eyes into little slits,  
Draco smirked evilly,  
"I just thought you should know that everybody hates you." He murmured and watched her face drop instantly,  
"What?" she managed to croak out, she suddenly felt a huge weight on her shoulders, '_why is he being this nasty?'_ she thought, _'then again, this is Draco Malfoy.'  
_Scarlett snorted, "Are you sure you're not talking about yourself?" she mirrored his smirk,  
"Oh no, I reassure you I am certainly talking about you, Lawton." He whispered stepping closer and continuing "Why else wouldn't Potter, Weasley and Granger come to see you, hm?"  
Scarlett felt a burning sensation in her eyes _'How odd.'_ She thought but pushed it to the back of her mind, and the more she thought about what Malfoy said, the more she realised he was telling the truth. Neither Harry nor Ron nor Hermione had visited Scarlett – they hated her.

* * *

The minute she stepped out of the infirmary she headed straight to the Gryffindor Common Room, she didn't stop until she got there, when she entered Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting in front of the fire looking rather worried, Ron's eyes moved up as Scarlett walked into the Common Room,  
"Scarlett!" he exclaimed jumping off the sofa, but before he could reach her, she ran upstairs to her dorm, wishing she could remember the spell that locks doors, so she just locked the door herself. She collapsed onto her bed and fell asleep instantly.

* * *

"What was that all about?" Harry asked Ron, who shrugged and was staring up at where Scarlett had gone,  
"There's something wrong, I can sense it." Harry whispered to Hermione, who looked sympathetic and nodded,  
"Should we go up there?" Ron asked turning to Hermione, who shook her head,  
"No, we need to figure out what's going on. She's probably not in the mood to talk right now," Hermione spoke, putting her finger on her chin as if in thought, then it came to her, "you don't think it's because Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let us see her, do you?" her eyes wide with realisation.  
"I'll go check on her." Harry said, he didn't care that Hermione was listing about fifty different reasons of why he shouldn't go up there; even the reason that he was a boy didn't make him change his mind.

* * *

Harry knocked the door to Scarlett's dorm; she shared the dorm with Hermione, and two other girls; Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil – who we're probably with their friends from other houses - there was no answer but he could hear Scarlett sniffing and moving about,  
"Scarlett?" he murmured, knocking the door again, he could hear her coming towards the door and fumbling with the lock, she groaned and pulled out her wand,  
"_Alohamora_." She whispered, if it was another time, Harry would have burst out laughing, but not now, his friend was upset.  
She opened the door and went back to sitting on the side of her bed, Harry stepped in the room, and closed the door, and Scarlett looked up at him, eyes rimmed red, and bloodshot.  
"Scarlett..." Harry trailed off, as he sat on the bed next to her, he put his arm around her and he felt her shoulders shaking, she was crying again,  
"Scarlett.." Harry whispered again, rubbing circles on her back to calm her down "what's wrong?" he asked, staring into her eyes, _'Are they moving? Surely not... They are!'_ He thought, her eyes we're definitely moving, they we're fiery red, and Harry wasn't sure if that was because of the crying or not. Scarlett broke their gaze by looking at her feet,  
"I'm sorry..." she croaked, wiping her eyes, Harry looked very confused, "for running up here, being stupid, it's just... Malfo-"she quickly added, Harry stood up as soon as she said 'Malfoy' and turned to face her,  
"What did Malfoy say?" he hissed, his eyes wide with anger, his fists clenched,  
"He.. It... Doesn't matter." She stammered her eyes also wide, but with fear.  
She got off the bed and turned to try and go through the door to get away, she hadn't seen anyone this angry since she broke her muggle Uncles vase, she remember him taking off his belt and whacking her all over until she was a bloody pulp, by the time she was back with her parents, they we're scars, only on her back, she still had the scars and that incident happened when she was six years old.  
She was snapped back into reality by Harry grabbing her arm and pulling her to him gently,  
"Of course it matters!" he hissed getting angrier by the minute, he hadn't noticed he was holding Scarlett's hand,  
"He said... that... you all hate me." She whispered looking down at their hands, tears rolling down her face.  
Harry could see that Scarlett was scared, so he took a few deep breaths to calm down and sat on the bed, Scarlett too sat on the bed, they we're still holding hands, they just sat in silence for about five minutes, holding hands and thinking.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! I'm unsure whether to have Harry and Scarlett have a relationship or whether to just have them as friends?**

**Next time: Harry goes to see Malfoy**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thank you to those people who followed the story :)**

**Hot0Red0Head  
Jackie1229  
SHADOW OF DEATHS**

* * *

"I'm going to bloody kill Malfoy." Growled Harry, pacing in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room, Hermione and Ron we're following Harry with their eyes, Scarlett sat on the opposite couch from Hermione and Ron, staring at her feet, suddenly it seemed her feet were very interesting.  
"Why? What's he done?" Ron asked looking back and forth between Harry and Scarlett, who had only just come out of her dormitory with Harry marching in front,  
"He told Scarlett we hate her. He said that we hadn't been to visit her because we hate her. Scarlett, we wasn't allowed to see you, Madam Pomfrey said we couldn't..." Harry sighed, sitting in between Ron and Hermione who looked shocked,  
"That's rubbish! Scarlett, you're our friend!" Ron practically shouted, gaining a few dirty looks from studying Fifth Years, Hermione just sat there shaking her head,  
"Draco Malfoy is a horrible, horrible person. He enjoys being evil. Surely you can tell by now?" Hermione spoke in her very posh accent, leaning forward towards Scarlett, who looked up and stared at all three of them,  
"I'm sorry..." Scarlett managed to whisper, "I'm sorry!" she cried out, she stood up and ran out of the portrait door, causing everyone in the common room to whisper at each other,  
"Where's she going?"  
"She's going to get in trouble..."  
"Poor girl..."  
"Harry, Hermione, let's go find her!" Ron whispered to them both, and they walked out of the portrait.

* * *

"I've done it now... They'll never want me as a friend now... I should have known... Oh god..." Scarlett paced on the wooden dock, she was standing near the black lake, she hadn't have known it was there if she hadn't have walked over the hill that was near it, she stopped pacing and sat down,  
"Stupid Lawton no friends!" she heard a voice chanting over and over, she turned and cried out in surprise, making the person laugh,  
"Malfoy, leave me alone." She spoke, groaning, making the blonde boy laugh even harder, she heard footsteps and before she knew it, Malfoy's partners in crime we're standing next to him,  
"Loser Lawton.." Crabbe spat out, making Malfoy and Goyle smirk,  
"Loser Lawton." They all chanted,  
Scarlett jumped up pointing her wand at Draco, "Leave. Me. Alone." She demanded, Draco smirked pulling out his own wand,  
"You're always alone. Loser Lawton." Draco spat "_Stupefy!_" he shouted, Scarlett only had time to gasp as she got knocked back into the water,  
"Draco! You said it wouldn't knock her off the dock!" Crabbe shouted at Draco, who looked bewildered, "She'll live." Draco snarled, he backed up and ran away, his friends following close behind.

* * *

Scarlett went under the water,  
_'Oh god! What's that under my feet?'  
'I'm going to die.' _Scarlett thought, desperately trying to swim up and failing, in fact she could have sworn she was going further down,  
_'Open your eyes Scarlett. NOW!'_ She demanded herself, and she opened her eyes slowly,  
_'What the hell?!' _she thought, she closed her eyes again and opened them,  
she put her hands in front of her eyes, _'Why can I breath? I have a tail! This isn't right! What's going on! What the bloody hell is GOING ON! I'm going straight to Dumbledore if I get out of here... Hold on... I can see things? Why is my eyesight so clear down here? This is water! Something isn't right here... This isn't right!' _she thought, looking down, she had a tail and it was bright orange and it was sort of moving, _'Like fire...'_

* * *

"Scarlett! Scarlett! Come on! You need to tell Dumbledore about your ability!" screamed Hermione, Ron and Harry we're following behind but quickly ran down the hill to where Scarlett was spluttering by the side of the lake, Ron and Harry kneeled next to her,  
"You alright?" Ron asked gripping hold of Scarlett's arm, making her wince, he let go slightly,  
"I'm fine." She coughed out water, making Hermione stand back a bit,  
"We should get you to the Infirmary.." Hermione spoke, kneeling down and checking to make sure she was alright.  
They helped her stand and Hermione put her arm around Scarlett to help her up.  
"There's no way I'm going back to the Infirmary!" she cried out making Harry and Ron snigger,  
Hermione frowned and turned around to face her,  
"Let's go to Dumbledore then, we shouldn't even be out here, we should be on our way to lesson's!" Hermione whined making Scarlett glare at her, Ron and Harry we're trailing behind talking about some Potion's Homework,  
"It's going to suck coming in lesson having missed the very first lesson, I'm going to have no idea what they're talking about." Scarlett sighed, and Harry nudged her and nodded towards Hermione,  
"You know, Hermione could teach you what we learnt. Honestly it wasn't much, just a spell, what was it again? Winguardium Leviosa?" he asked Hermione who was nodding,  
"Sure I'll teach you it, and yes Harry, Winguardium Leviosa." She spoke in her 'posh voice' but then she frowned,  
"I don't think we can teach you what Professor Snape taught though without having a cauldron, sorry." Hermione apologized, looking sympathetic, Scarlett just nodded,  
"He was in the Infirm- Oh crud!" Scarlett groaned, making them all stare at her, she stopped walking and placed her hand on her forehead "I was supposed to go straight to Dumbledore to 'discuss my punishment'" she imitated Snape perfectly making Harry and Ron burst out laughing, Hermione gasped and practically pulled them all the way to Dumbledore's office.

* * *

"You guys can go if you like." Scarlett smiled sadly, truthfully she didn't want them to go but she couldn't stop them if they wanted to.  
They all shook their heads,  
"Nope. We have 'punishments' too, because we got on the brooms too, remember?" Ron sighed,  
"Well, you can go if you like Hermione." Scarlett nodded to her and smiled, she nodded back and quickly hugged Scarlett, giving her a face full of hair, they all watched as Hermione ran down the corridor, obviously running to class.  
"So this is it." Harry sighed, Scarlett and Ron just nodded, "What's the password?" he asked, Professor McGonagall had told them the password only yesterday and he'd forgotten already.  
Ron stroked his chin, trying to remember, "Cotton candy!" he shouted, the gargoyle stepped to the side and the stairs slowly went up,  
"Blimey.." Ron murmured, all three of them just stood and watched as the stairs went higher and higher. Scarlett turned to them both,  
"Well, let's go!" she exclaimed nodding her head towards the stairs.  
The walk up the stairs was silent, all three of them we're thinking through their heads about how horrible their punishments were going to be.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry that I haven't updated in a while I've had writers block and I've been busy :)  
Shout out to  
alaskanwoman25  
for following the story, thank you :)**

* * *

As they stepped into the office, they saw a man sitting in a rather large chair, Albus Dumbledore.  
Harry and Scarlett stared at their feet, Ron however was staring straight at the man, the minute they had walked into the office they saw the colour in Ron's face drain,  
"I see you have found your ability, Miss Lawton." Dumbledore spoke gently, his eyes twinkling brightly.  
Both Harry and Scarlett looked up at Dumbledore, Harry looked confused and the elder smiled at him before gesturing towards the window, they all walked over towards the window and looked out, there just below they could see the lake where Scarlett had been just that morning.  
Ron nodded silently and turned back to face Dumbledore, the colour in his face had returned a little,  
"So... You saw it all, Sir?" Harry asked curiously, he looked quickly around the office and then his gaze fell back on the Professor who was nodding his head slowly,  
"I assure you Mister Malfoy and his friends will be punished." he whispered peering over his glasses at Scarlett,  
"S-sir, what do you mean... ability?" she spoke, barely above a whisper, she stared at the man who seemed to look older as each minute passed,  
"Well, when you went into the water and you transformed, my child." He spoke gently again, getting up out of his seat, he walked closer to Scarlett and stared into her eyes, "Your eyes, they speak the truth of your ability, Miss Lawton." Dumbledore nodded, and Scarlett looked at Harry who was edging over to look at her eyes,  
"So what is she, Professor Dumbledore?" Ron piped up, confusion and anxiety in his voice.  
Dumbledore turned to face both Harry and Ron, then back at Scarlett, "May I?" he asked, Scarlett nodded and stood next to Ron, she was clearly anxious and scared,  
"You, my child," he started, looking Scarlett right in her fiery red eyes, "are a Syreni."

* * *

"A Syreni?" Hermione whispered, and all three of them nodded, she sat back in her chair and looked around the common room in bewilderment,  
"What's a Syreni, Hermione?" Harry asked looking up over his book, they were sitting at one of the few tables in the 'Homework Corner' as they called it, because it had bookcases on either sides and many Gryffindor's chose to do their homework there.  
Hermione cleared there throat and Ron rolled his eyes, leaning his head on his left hand, he was preparing for her big speech.  
"A Syreni, or commonly known as a Mermaid, is an aquatic creature with the upper body of a woman and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in many cultures worldwide, including the Near East, Europe, China, and India. Mermaids are sometimes thought of as perilous creatures associated with floods, storms, shipwrecks, and drowning." She stopped to take a breath and get comfortable in her chair "Many muggles think that they invented the idea of mermaids; they think they aren't real. Apparently though, an old witch had told her muggle neighbours children stories of mermaids, and they had told their parents, and so on and so forth, mermaids are thought of as a fictional species." Hermione quoted, she frowned at Ron who appeared to have not understood a word of what she said.  
Scarlett noticed and rolled her eyes, "Honestly, Ron, it's not that hard to understand." and Harry nodded in agreement.  
Ron just shrugged and pulled his quill and parchment out and began starting his Charms homework, Harry too started his homework and Ron kept glancing over to Harry's parchment to occasionally copy a good part.  
Scarlett watched in amusement as he glanced up at her and smirked, he sat back in his chair, his hands folded, still smirking,  
"I wonder if the Professor would be able to find out if someone had copied someone else.." he spoke, Hermione looked confused and he winked at her and looked towards Ron who had stopped writing and was staring at his parchment, biting his lip.  
Hermione cracked first and burst out laughing, followed by Scarlett and Harry, soon all four of them we're laughing, nearly falling off their chairs.

* * *

"Harry! Harry look! Look!" came the voice of Neville Longbottom, he was holding out a copy of the Daily Prophet, Harry took the paper and frowned  
"Gringotts was broken into!" he exclaimed, gaining the attention of some older Gryffindor's who all crowded around Harry, Scarlett looked at the other tables, each we're crowded round a copy of the Daily Prophet, it was the front page and the picture was of a dozen goblins crowded around an open vault,  
"Gringotts hasn't been broken in since... well... never!" Hermione exclaimed throwing her hands in the air, all of the Gryffindor's had returned to their seats now,  
"Something definitely is off here. Look at the date, that's when I visited Gringotts with Hagrid!" Harry exclaimed, pointing his index finger at the date,  
"Yeah, I saw you and Hagrid walking in." Scarlett nodded biting into a piece of toast,  
"Hagrid took a little parcel out the vault, said it was important that Dumbledore needs to get it." Harry continued and frowned,  
"Maybe we should ask Dumbledore?" Ron suggested and piled another two pieces of toast onto his plate,  
"What do we have first?" Scarlett asked quickly, changing the subject, she didn't really want to see Dumbledore again for a while. Hermione pulled out her neatly folded timetable,  
"Potions – with Professor Snape." She spoke, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice, and clearly failing as she noticed Ron grinning,  
Scarlett finished her juice and as soon as she got her bag Hermione was leading her out of the Great Hall and into the corridor, followed by Harry and a confused Ron,  
"We need to go to class, if we're so much as five minutes late, Professor Snape will have us in the minus'" Hermione sighed, and lead the way to Potions.

* * *

"Well that was a disaster." Harry sighed and leant on Ron who looked equally tired,  
Hermione and Scarlett nodded and Scarlett pinched the bridge of her nose,  
"Would you care to enlighten us all on what lesson we have next, Hermione?" Scarlett spoke, the sentence dripping with sarcasm;  
Hermione looked up from her timetable and was beaming,  
"Well?" Harry asked curiously,  
"Flying." Hermione grinned.  
"With the Slytherins!" Ron added, and they all groaned and made their way out to the field.

* * *

"Up!" Scarlett commanded, Harry's and Malfoy's had gone straight up, Hermione's took a few times and Ron's hit him in the face,  
"UP!" she said sternly, the broom gracefully lifted off the ground and into her hand,  
'Odd, everyone else's had gone up quickly.' She thought, but pushed the thought's away as Madam Hooch was telling everyone to mount their brooms,  
she and all the other Gryffindor's watched in horror as Neville went higher and higher,  
the Slytherin's were howling in laughter as Neville fell off his broom,  
"Mister Longbottom get back here this instant!" Madam Hooch shouted, and she immediately ran forward as Neville fell to the ground,  
"Everyone stays here while I take Mister Longbottom to the Infirmary." Madam Hooch spoke as she rushed Neville to the Infirmary.  
"Hey look. Looks like Longbottom forgot his Remembrall!" Malfoy exclaimed picking it up off the ground and smirking,  
"Give that back, Malfoy." Harry demanded, stepping towards Malfoy,  
"You'll have to come get it." Malfoy taunted, mounting his broom and kicking off, Harry too mounted his broom,  
"Harry you cannot be serious! You could be expelled!" Hermione exclaimed gripping Harry's arm,  
"I have too." Harry spoke, and before Hermione could list the many reasons why he shouldn't do it Harry was up in the air, gliding gracefully.  
"Crikey he's good at flying already." Ron spoke, and watched as Malfoy threw the Remembrall and Harry sped up and caught it.  
They all gasped as they watched Harry start to wobble, and gasped once again as they noticed there was now three figures flying,  
Hermione turned around and frowned,  
"Where's Scarlett?" she asked and then it hit them, Scarlett had gone up there too to help Harry.

* * *

"Harry, concentrate!" Scarlett spoke, as she tried to guide Harry,  
"Put the Remembrall in your pocket, that way you can use both hands on the broom."  
Harry did as she told him to and steadied on the broom,  
Scarlett's father had already given her flying lessons before school had started, so she was pretty ahead of them all,  
"That's it, good. Now follow me." She instructed and turned back towards where everyone else was, they were cheering at them,  
they landed on the ground and we're crowded by a dozen excited Gryffindor's,  
"Mister Potter! Miss Lawton! Come with me!" came a female voice, Professor McGonagall, everyone turned to her in horror, and moved out the way so Scarlett and Harry could follow her.  
All of the Slytherin's smirked.  
"They're going to get it now." A Slytherin commented and the others nodded in agreement.  
Little did they know they would get far from that.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:  
Hellllloooo!  
The reason why both Scarlett and Harry are Seekers will be explained.  
Oh and also I might make Draco their friend, I haven't decided yet.  
I still only own Scarlett.**

* * *

"Mister Potter, Miss Lawton. This is Oliver Wood." Professor McGonagall smiled at them and Oliver looked at them both confused,  
"I have found two new seekers for Quidditch!" she exclaimed, pressing her hands together and smiling,  
"But... we're first years. And I thought there could only be one seeker?" Scarlett spoke and Professor McGonagall shook her head,  
"Yes, you are first years, I am very aware of that. Also, for some unknown reason Professor Dumbledore changed the rules, so each house has to have two seekers." She explained, frowning, but she then smiled and patted Oliver on the back,  
"Alright, we'll see what you two can do, meet us at the Quidditch pitch tonight, after supper." Oliver nodded and walked back into his classroom.  
"Yes, yes, I suggest you two go to your next lesson." Professor McGonagall nodded to them and walked off down the corridor,  
leaving a shocked Scarlett and Harry behind.

* * *

"Bloody hell! Both of you, seekers!" Ron practically yelled across the Great Hall table,  
Harry rolled his eyes as it got a lot of attention from Gryffindor, and lots of other houses.  
Hermione nodded,  
"There hasn't been a first year seeker in, well, I'd say about a thousand years!" she grinned,  
Scarlett and Harry were absolutely beaming,  
they all get up and leave the Great Hall, followed by Neville Longbottom,  
"Oi!" shouts a male voice, Scarlett sighs and turns around, and in front of them is none other than Draco Malfoy,  
"Yes?" Hermione asked, folding her hands across her chest and raising her eyebrows,  
"I need your help." Malfoy asks without a snarl on his face, he looks around to make sure there's nobody around,  
"W-uh... What with?" Scarlett asked, this wasn't the Draco Malfoy she was used to, this was something completely different,  
"Well, on the Forbidden Corridor, there is an unusual door. I wondered if you lot. Yes even you Longbottom... would accompany me to see what is behind it." Malfoy spoke, his chin in the air and he snarled, but his eyes looked pleading.  
"Why do _you _want _us_ to come?" Ron spat out, stepping towards Malfoy who took a step back and coughed,  
"Well... I-I- I just... thought..." he stuttered and Scarlett stepped forward and looked at him,  
"We'll do it." She said, and held out her hand, she was probably going to regret this, but she saw something genuine about Dra- Malfoy's request.  
Malfoy looked down at Scarlett's hand and without hesitating, shook it; he looked up to see the horrified looks of Harry, Ron, Neville, and Hermione. He handed a note to Scarlett and hurried off down the corridor.  
"Oh that's just fantastic!" Ron exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air, Hermione held up her hand to make Ron be quiet, and he scowled as Scarlett turned around, a note opened in her hands, she looked up and smirked,  
"Looks like we have our first midnight adventure" she spoke, holding the note up,  
**_'Meet me at the Forbidden Corridor entrance. 12am. Be there."_**

* * *

"God, remind me why I joined in your adventure." Neville groaned, as he yawned and rubbed his eyes,  
"Look, Neville... just go back if you really want to." Hermione smiled at Neville who shook his head,  
"No. Way. I want to do this with you." He replied and Hermione nodded, and followed Harry, Ron and Scarlett to the Forbidden Corridor entrance.  
Indeed Malfoy had kept his word; he was leaning against the archway to the Forbidden Corridor.  
"I thought you weren't going to turn up." Malfoy nodded, and Scarlett walked ahead of them, straight into the Forbidden Corridor, they all watched in amazement as she walked down half the corridor, not even caring that it was very eerie and dark.  
"Come on then." She hissed to them, and they all followed, with Scarlett leading and the others close behind, every few steps she would look back to make sure that Malfoy didn't suddenly disappear and go get a Professor.  
"Which door?" she asked and sighed in frustration as she got out her wand,  
"_Lumos._" She cast, a bright white orb coming out the end of her wand, she waited for Malfoy's reply,  
"That one." He said pointing towards the door at the end of the corridor, this different Draco Malfoy was kind of strange.  
"Right." Scarlett said and quickened her pace to the end of the corridor.  
Suddenly a voice came from the opposite end of the corridor,  
"Who's there?" the voice shouted,  
"Filtch!" Malfoy hissed, he watched as the lantern light at the end of the corridor was getting closer,  
"Quick! In there." Harry whispered, opening the door and running in, they all ran in after him and stopped dead in their tracks as they looked up.  
A three headed dog was staring back at them; Malfoy screamed and ran out of the door, followed by the rest of them. Luckily, Filch was long gone.

* * *

"Are you sure Hermione? It was awfully dark." Ron asked, his left eyebrow raised, they we're in the Common Room, getting ready for first lesson, they had breakfast early so as to have time to discuss the events of last night,  
"Positive." She replied sternly, she sat on the red couch, Scarlett sat next to her, listening to everyone but not saying anything herself.  
Harry jumped up and started pacing the room quickly,  
"I've got it!" he exclaimed, Hermione looked up at him, confused,  
"Got what Harry?" she asked, he turned to her,  
"Why the dog was there. It's clearly guarding something. I think that whatever the dog is guarding was something important, remember what I said a few days ago? That Hagrid had taken something out of the vault and it was important that Dumbledore got it. I think the dog is guarding whatever Hagrid took out of the vault." Harry concluded and Scarlett jumped up,  
"Hagrid!" she exclaimed and walked to the Portrait,  
"Scarlett, we simply can't go now. Lessons, remember?" Hermione called after her, making her stop in her tracks and groan as she turned on her heel and returned to the couch.  
Harry and Ron we're discussing Quidditch and Scarlett glared at them,  
"What's first?" she asked, turning to Hermione who to her surprise already had her timetable out,  
"Oh." She spoke barely above a whisper, Harry and Ron stopped talking and turned to her,  
"What? Oh god is it-" Harry started and was interrupted by Hermione, to his surprise,  
"Potions, with the Slytherins. This means that Draco Malfoy will be there. He was acting very peculiar last night, wasn't he?" she spoke quickly, putting her timetable in her bag,  
Harry and Ron nodded in agreement and turned to Scarlett who was already on her feet leaving the Common Room,  
Harry sighed, "I think she was hoping for some sort of change in him, very unlikely." He chuckled, and they all left the Common Room to head to Potions.

* * *

"Draco Malfoy and... Scarlett Lawton." Severus Snape sneered, he loved pairing up people who were complete opposites, especially when everyone else got to choose their partners,  
"Miss Lawton because you are doing exceptionally well, I would like you to pair up with Draco Malfoy. He will improve your score." He added, turning to his desk and returning to his chair,  
he watched in amusement as Blaise Zabini was forced to swap with Scarlett Lawton, and was now sitting next to Hermione Granger.  
However cruel he was to Gryffindor's, he would try and help one of his best friends children. Much like Draco, Snape was Scarlett's Godfather, he wasn't sure if she knew or not, but he would try his best to help her get her deserved levels without being found out.

* * *

Scarlett was watching Draco closely out the corner of her eye, he looked different, as though something had changed, not that she cared. She heard Snape groan on and on about how certain Potions should not be used with other certain Potions,  
"Miss Lawton, which potion should not be used with Dreamless Sleep?" Snape boomed, moving swiftly to the back desk where she sat. She looked up at him, terrified,  
_'Goodness am I really that scary?_' Snape thought, he stared at her, his eyebrows raised,  
"No?" he said sternly, he watched as Draco whispered the answer to her,  
_'Quite loyal. Maybe he should be in Hufflepuff.' _Snape thought with a smirk, the thought of Draco Malfoy being a Hufflepuff amused him greatly,  
"A love potion." Scarlett spoke, he had to lean in to hear her,  
"Good. Five points to Gryffindor." He said without thinking, and turned around to see a dozen horrified Slytherin pupils, but Draco seemed to be smiling, a genuine smile, not a smirk.  
_'Odd. I don't think I've seen him smile since he was four.'_

* * *

"Draco!" shouted Pansy, they had been walking back from Supper and Pansy was trying to tell Draco about her summer but he seemed to have been daydreaming all through Supper, he hadn't even touched his food,  
"Draco, what's wrong?" she asked, a concerned look on her face she grabbed his arm but he pushed her off and gave her a snarl, she stepped back, eyes wide and pushed past him and headed straight to the Slytherin Common Room.  
Draco sighed, he'd thought a lot about Potter and his crew, about what it would be like to be their friend, about how his father would probably kill him, or worse, kill Harry.  
No, he couldn't let Harry Potter die, even if he wasn't The Boy Who Lived, he still didn't want Harry to die. He would rather die than have Harry die.

* * *

"Draco Malfoy, my office." Snape bellowed into the Common Room, a few people stared at him and Pansy walked forward,  
"He's not here." Pansy snarled, looking at the wall behind Snape,  
"What do you mean he's not here? I saw him heading this way not long ago." Snape retorted, Pansy just shrugged and returned to her studying,  
"He hasn't came in, Sir. He turned around, went out onto the grounds." A nervous Blaise Zabini spoke not taking his eyes off his homework,  
Snape turned and fled out of the room, his ropes billowing behind him.  
He had to find Draco.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:**  
**I still only own Scarlett, also Draco is going to be friends with them all, eventually.  
Also thank you mabajama for Reviewing the story :)**

* * *

Draco stood leaning on a tree in the grounds, he didn't even remember coming out here. He watched the sun going down and sighed, he had a lot to think about.  
"Draco..." came the baritone voice of his Godfather, Professor Snape, he didn't sound so scary now which surprised Draco, he sighed and turned to face him.  
He licked his lips as if to say something, but he didn't quite know what to say,  
"Draco, I must speak with you about today." Snape spoke in a gentle voice, "Draco, come." He demanded and Draco obediently followed behind his Professor to his office.

* * *

Severus sat in his black chair behind his desk and instructed Draco to sit down,  
"Professor I assure you there is nothing wrong." He spoke, trying to hide the fear in his voice, there was no doubt that he would owl his father if Draco told him about wanting to become friends with Harry Potter.  
"Draco, do not lie to me." Snape said sternly, and stood up from his chair making Draco's eyes go wide with fear. This did not go unnoticed to Snape, and he immediately sat back down and leaned over his desk towards Draco who had suddenly found an interest in his feet,  
"Draco, I promise to you that anything you tell me will not be spoken of to your father." Snape spoke and he watched as Draco looked up at him and he seemed to relax a bit,  
"Promise?" Draco sniffed, he couldn't imagine the punishment he would get for befriending a Lion.  
"I believe that is what I said, Draco." Snape smirked and Draco smiled a little, a proper smile,  
_'That's twice today._' Thought Snape, and told Draco to say what's wrong.  
Draco explained about what happened the other night, lying a little bit by saying they were just walking around and about how much Draco appreciated that Scarlett had accepted his request, he explained about how happy he was with them than being with Crabbe and Goyle.  
Once he finished explaining he noticed that Snape was smiling a little bit and nodding,  
"Draco, I think that you should be friends with whomever you want. I promise not to tell your father, I know what he's like." Snape shuddered remembering the time he caught Lucius using a curse on Draco and how much pain he could see Draco was in; he was only ten at the time.  
"Thank you, Sir! I cannot explain how grateful I am that you won't tell my father!" Draco explained, smiling from ear to ear, then he frowned,  
"I just hope that they accept me as a friend." He sighed,  
"Dragon, I'm sure they will, after all you can be quite persuasive." Snape smirked and Draco did something rather unexpected, he hugged Snape, and what was even more unexpected was that Snape returned the hug.

* * *

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Scarlett sat in the Common Room, it was almost eleven o'clock and they were still doing their homework,  
" I'm so tired." Whined Ron and Harry nodded, rubbing his eyes,  
" I'm finished." Scarlett yawned and Hermione nodded, she too had finished, they both got up from their chairs. Scarlett shoved her homework and things in her bag and rolled her eyes as Hermione was putting all her things away neatly,  
"G'nite." She said barely above a whisper, her eyes drooping, she waved to her friends who smiled back at her.  
She walked up the spiral stairs and after what seemed like an eternity reached her dorm, she placed her bag next to her bed and put on her pyjama's, it had a snitch on it that was charmed to move on the cloth, she collapsed on her bed and fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Scarlett frowned, Professor McGonagall had woken her and said she had to go to Snape's office, it was ridiculously early, she trudged down the corridors in her pyjamas and had her fluffy red night gown wrapped around her, the cord had to be wrapped twice around because she was so skinny, she didn't even notice that the paintings we're glaring at her,  
"Silly child walking around in her pyjama's."  
"Would have thought she would have had the decency to get dressed." Spoke the paintings, shaking their heads,  
"It's four o'clock in the bloody morning." She snapped back, scowling at the paintings, and smirked as their eyes went wide and they huffed and went back to whatever they we're doing,  
she turned the corner and looked down the seemingly never ending stairs, the Slytherin common room and whatnot we're deep down under the castle.  
She frowned as she couldn't even see the bottom and then sighed and ventured down, it got darker and darker until finally she got to the bottom, only simple little torches lit the corridor, she crept down and looked at the plaques on the doors,  
"Common Room... Do Not Enter... Stock Cupboard... Ah, Professor Snape's office." She murmured to herself and knocked on the door.

* * *

"Enter." Snape demanded in his teacher voice, he had requested Scarlett and Draco to come down, he wasn't sure which one it was, or even if it was them. He smirked as Scarlett entered the office in her pyjama's, they were the ones that Snape had told Scarlett's father to give to her for when she got into Hogwarts, of course he knew she would be in Gryffindor, so he too had requested for a Gryffindor red night robe.  
"Hello Sir, you called for me?" Scarlett spoke in a confident voice. Yes, definitely Gryffindor, only a Gryffindor could talk to him in a brave voice.  
"Yes, I did. Sit, please." He spoke more gently and watched amused as Scarlett's eyes went wide at the gentleness of his voice,  
"We must wait for Mister Malfoy." Snape nodded and placed his hands flat on the desk, tapping his index finger as they waited in silence before a pale blond boy entered the room, he too was in pyjama's similar to Scarlett's, but his night robe was Slytherin green,  
"Dragon, please sit." Snape spoke, and watched as Scarlett frowned,  
"Dragon is Draco's nickname. Miss Lawton, I am not sure if you are aware, but I am Draco's Godfather." He spoke gently, and Draco frowned, confused.  
Snape sighed, he was unsure of how they would both react,  
"Scarlett," Severus started, Scarlett's eyes darted up to meet his as he spoke her name, Draco sat back in the chair, one eyebrow raised,  
"Scarlett, I am also your Godfather." He spoke gently and watched as Scarlett's eyes grew wide, but then quickly went back to normal and then unexpectedly she was smiling. Well that wasn't the reaction he was expecting, he had expected things in the room to go flying,  
"How... Why..." she started and Snape nodded, knowing what she was going to ask,  
"Your father and I went to school together, this school. Your father and I became very good friends, and... Well... I haven't told many people this, but I was also best friends with Lily Potter. Yes, Harry Potter's mother," Snape sighed, memories of Lily flooding back to him, but he pushed them away, now wasn't the time to be sad,  
"anyway, when your mother found out about me, and how much your father and I we're good friends, they both insisted that I become your Godfather." Snape nodded, and looked as Scarlett, she was smiling very much indeed, and so was Draco.  
"We can be like Godbrother and Godsister." Smiled Draco and Scarlett nodded whilst laughing,  
"Oh and you see your pyjamas?" Snape smiled a genuine smile, nodding in the direction of both of them, Scarlett and Draco looked down at their pyjama's then looked at each other's and their eyebrows raised as they looked back at Snape,  
"I brought them for both of you, last Christmas. Obviously I knew which houses you were going into, Draco your definitely Slytherin, hence the Slytherin green, and Scarlett your definitely Gryffindor, hence the Gryffindor red." Snape smirked and Scarlett frowned,  
"But Sir my mother said that my uncle brought them for me..." Scarlett spoke,  
"Yes, your parents didn't want you to meet me until Hogwarts." Snape nodded and smiled,  
"Oh... well that's odd..." Scarlett replied, talking more to herself than to her Godfather,  
"Draco already knew me, so I just gave them to him." Snape nodded and then leant on his right hand,  
"Any questions?" Snape asked, and they both shook their heads, "Right well I suggest you either go back to bed, or get ready for lessons, it is five o'clock now, and no doubt Miss Granger might be awake." Snape smirked and Scarlett rolled her eyes,  
"Bye... Godfather." She smirked as she disappeared out the door.

* * *

**A/N:**  
**Snape is going to be rather nice in this story.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:**  
**Hello again :) This Chapter, Draco finds out Scarlett's ability. Thank you Mabajama for following the story :)**  
**I still only own Scarlett.**

* * *

Scarlett walked into the Gryffindor Common Room and was bombarded with Questions from Hermione, since she was the only one awake at half five in the morning.  
"Where were you? I was panicking! I thought you'd been kidnapped! I was going to get Professor McGonagall but I thought it might be a _little _too early and I didn't want to be rude and wake her up... But still where _were _you?" Hermione asked quickly, getting off the couch and running to Scarlett who was smirking,  
"Well... I... needed the toilet and got lost." Scarlett chuckled and Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled,  
"Honestly, it's not_ that _hard to find your way around." Hermione giggled and sat back down and picked up her book,  
"What you reading?" Scarlett asked, leaning towards Hermione who held up her book and bit her lip,  
"Advanced Potions... Hermione you're really clever. I can hardly understand ordinary Potions." Scarlett shook her head in disbelief.  
She frowned as she noticed Hermione staring at her legs, Scarlett looked down and smiled,  
"Yeah, they're cool pyjamas aren't they? My Godfather gave them to me; they're charmed so the Snitch looks like its flying on the cloth. Anyway, I guess I'd better get dressed. Might as well." Scarlett nodded and got off the couch, she headed up to the dorm to get her towel and robes and headed to the bathroom to have a shower.  
Once she was dressed she stared into the mirror and looked at herself, her jet-black hair was tumbling down her back, she started to plait her hair, and it started at the back of her head and went down to her lower back.  
She came out of the bathroom and walked back downstairs, she peered over at the clock,  
"Hermione when is the earliest that breakfast is served?" she called over to Hermione who put down her book and tilted her head,  
"Six, why?" she asked,  
"Well it's half six, should we wait for Harry and Ron or just go down?" she replied back, and Hermione put her book in her bag,  
"I usually wait." Hermione smiled and sat back down on the couch,  
"Then wait we shall!" Scarlett exclaimed,  
"Exploding snap?" Hermione asked, pulling out her pack of cards,  
"You'll never beat me." Scarlett hissed and narrowed her eyes playfully making Hermione burst out laughing.

* * *

At about seven Harry and Ron emerged from their dorms laughing and play fighting. They stopped when they saw Hermione and Scarlett staring at them with their arms folded,  
"Oh bloody hell what's wrong now?" Ron groaned rolling his eyes, he was sure he hadn't done anything wrong and he was thinking about everything that he might not have done when Hermione and Scarlett started grinning,  
"We was joking!" Hermione chuckled and walked towards the portrait,  
"Breakfast time!" shouted Scarlett and Ron cheered, Harry shot apologetic looks at other Gryffindor's and followed them out the portrait.

* * *

Draco sat at the Slytherin table, he'd been sat there since six o'clock, now it was seven and there were hardly any people in the Great Hall, most people came to eat at eight o'clock. He sat on his own; there were a small group of Hufflepuff's, three Ravenclaw's, two Gryffindor's and no Slytherin's, apart from himself. He turned his head as Scarlett, Harry, Ron and Hermione walked in, Scarlett and Ron we're in a debate over the best Quidditch players, whilst Harry and Hermione were discussing Spells and books. Scarlett looked over at him and waved, he waved back, he frowned as Harry and Ron asked her why she waved at him.  
He decided to start eating now so he didn't have to be around when Pansy would be boasting about how fun her summer had been in France. He finished his breakfast quickly and got up; he took one last look over at Gryffindor table and left the Great Hall.

* * *

Scarlett certainly noticed that something was wrong with Draco,  
"Guys I'm going to the bathroom." Scarlett announced, standing up, she ignored Hermione's questions about why she hadn't eaten yet.  
She left the Hall and looked down the corridor, she saw Draco turn a corner quickly, and decided to follow him. She walked a few paces behind, and eventually ended up outside, near a tree by the lake.  
"I know you're there Scarlett." Draco called out and spun around, and indeed Scarlett stood there blushing,  
"Sorry, it's just you seem really... upset." Scarlett said quietly, clenching her hands and putting them to her sides,  
Draco nodded and gestured for her to come nearer, and she did. Draco sat down leaning against the tree,  
"What's wrong, Draco?" Scarlett asked gently, sitting down opposite him, she looked up and watched as he started picking tufts of grass out of the ground,  
"It's just... well... no never mind you'll think it's ridiculous." Draco spoke getting up and Scarlett grabbed onto his arm, ignoring the odd tingling in her hand, Draco gazed down to her hand and sat back down sighing, she let go as he sat back down.  
"It's just I think I messed up... you know, being friends with Harry. I honestly want to be friends with all of you, even Ron." Draco sighed and shifted his position against the tree,  
"Draco, we haven't been at Hogwarts long enough for Harry to not accept your apology. Hermione wouldn't mind. But Ron might take a while to completely forgive you." Scarlett sighed, she had already spoken to Hermione whilst playing Exploding Snap about what she would do if he asked for an apology, she had hesitated but then said that she would accept his apology and probably become his friend.  
"I know... but... my father." Draco groaned and shifted again, he still had wounds on his back from his father for being disobedient. Scarlett frowned,  
"Are you okay Draco?" she asked reaching forward to hold his hand, he flinched and bit his lip,  
"Draco... talk to me, I could get some help for you." Scarlett said gently, now on her knees inspecting Draco,  
"I'm... fine." He lied, and looked up into her eyes, "Why are your eyes like that?" he asked, staring at her eyes, they were like fire, literally, they seemed to move.  
Scarlett broke their gaze, and looked towards the water,  
"What time is it?" she asked, biting her lip,  
Draco pulled out his wand, "_Tempus._" And the time appeared to project right in front of him,  
"It's five past eight." Draco said and put his wand back in his robe pocket, he ran a hand through his slicked back hair,  
"Right. That gives us fifty five minutes." Scarlett nodded and got up off the ground, "Promise me you won't steal my wand."  
Draco tilted his head in confusion as Scarlett put her robe on the ground and started taking off her clothes until she was left in shorts and a vest, Draco looked away blushing and looked back in time to see Scarlett running towards the water,  
"What are you doing?" he exclaimed and got off the ground but it was too late, she'd jumped in the water,  
"Oh god!" he gasped as he saw that she was sinking under the water, he lay on his front and peered over into the water, and he watched amazed as a light appeared under the water, and was getting closer to him, he moved back as the light was almost blinding, and then just as he was about to get ready to jump in and save Scarlett, she appeared above the water, she looked completely normal and Draco frowned, "You're mad." He smirked and gasped as she lay back and brought her fiery orange tail out of the water,  
"Oh my god!" Draco gasped "You're a mermaid!" he said and Scarlett nodded,  
"Can you talk?" he asked raising an eyebrow and she giggled,  
"Of course I can, dummy!"  
"I can't believe it. That's a rare ability you know." Draco commented and she nodded,  
"It only works in this kind of water, that why when half-mermaids like me have a bath and shower they don't suddenly transform. Also full mermaids can't talk above the water. Hermione told me." She nodded smiling, "Oh and half-mermaids get... certain... brilliant talents." She added and swam over to Draco,  
"Okay enough swimming. Time for class." She smiled getting out the water and almost instantly started glowing as her legs came back, she got her robes and things back on,  
"Watch this." She smirked and closed her eyes tightly and pushed her magic up to her head and she felt her hair dry instantly. She opened her eyes again and smiled tiredly,  
"No wonder you're tired, spells like that aren't usually performed until we're in third year." Draco shook his head, scolding her for wearing herself out. He put his arm around her so that she didn't fall over, it was a very powerful spell that she did, and they walked like that until they got to Charms.

* * *

Scarlett sighed as her Godfather was lecturing to everyone about how to properly chop slugs. Again he had placed her in the seat next to Draco, not that she minded. She was still quite worn out from this morning, and having to do spells in Charms right after had really worn her out, she was glad to have Double Potions as she wouldn't have to do any spells.  
"Are you alright?" Draco whispered to her, he had been watching Scarlett for a while, the problem with being worn out by doing spells is that sleeping doesn't help, otherwise he would have taken Scarlett to Gryffindor Tower to go to bed, but the best thing for her to do was to just sit down and do something not too much magic consuming, he was quite worried for Scarlett because they were only First Years and when one person does too many powerful spells they could damage their core, or worse. He shook the thought out of his head and helped Scarlett chop slugs,  
"Good work Draco, and you too, Miss Lawton." Snape winked at Scarlett who looked up with weary eyes and smiled back, this did not go unnoticed by Snape and he looked over at Draco who walked over to the door that lead to Snape's office, and Snape followed closely behind.  
"Everyone neutralize your cauldrons."

* * *

"What is wrong with Scarlett, Draco?" he asked, and Draco started pacing the office with his arms folded, and began explaining everything that happened and how she'd dried her own hair with a nonverbal spell and how in Charms she was trying really hard to get her magic to work, and Snape's face went paler than usual and then his eyes went wide,  
"We must get her straight to Madam Pomfrey." Snape nodded and got out of his chair and opened the door, and just as he did he heard a thump and the gasps of a dozen Slytherin's and Gryffindor's.  
Snape rushed over to see Scarlett lying on the floor, pale and in a pool of blood, with her eyes closed.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:  
Don't worry, the story line of Philosopher's Stone will come back soon :)  
I still only own Scarlett.**

* * *

Snape and Draco sat in armchairs either side of Scarlett. A tear fell down Draco's face as he saw how pale his 'Godsister' was. Snape squeezed Draco's hand reassuringly,  
"She will be okay, Dragon." Snape said barely above a whisper.  
Draco just nodded and wiped his eyes, he hadn't left her side since she had collapsed in the classroom five hours ago.  
"Go to the Great Hall. You need to eat." He said, patting his Godson on the shoulder, he felt a strange lump,  
"Draco, why is there a lump on your shoulder?" he asked, feeling the lump more, he followed the lump all the way down to the centre of Draco's back,  
"Nothing I just got a scar from when I fell over at home." Draco replied, trying to stay calm, he certainly didn't want anyone to find out that his father had hit him with his cane,  
"Do not lie to me." Snape said sternly, narrowing his eyes, he got out of his chair quickly and Draco winced,  
"There is nothing wrong with me, Sev. Honest." Draco lied, and got out of his chair and headed towards the door, he felt Snape's eyes burning holes in his back as he quickly left the Infirmary.  
"I will find out." Snape called after him and turned to sit back in his chair, he held Scarlett's hand for a while longer before leaving the Infirmary; he had to contact Scarlett's parents.

* * *

To say that Elya was distraught about her daughter Scarlett's condition would be kind, she was absolutely all over the place, sobbing and crying, screaming and shouting.  
"Calm down!" Oliver growled at his wife Elya who turned to her husband and frowned,  
"She could have_ died_!" Elya screamed back and burst into tears once again.  
Oliver sighed and walked over to his wife who was sitting in the chair next to Scarlett's bed, he glanced over at Scarlett and sighed, he then sat in the chair next to his wife,  
"But she didn't... My dear, she will be fine. Elya, we must go back home." Oliver whispered into his wife's ear who wiped her eyes and smoothed down her shirt, she turned to her husband and smiled sadly,  
"Yes. We must go." She nodded, and got out of the chair that she had been sat in for many hours. They both turned to leave the room and gasped as Snape stood there with his arms folded; he had been standing there for a long time. Elya rushed over to him and gave him a hug which he returned,  
"Thank you, Sev." She said, holding his hands and Snape nodded at her, smiling.  
Oliver walked over and put his arm around his wife,  
"Thank you, Severus. It means a lot to us that you are keeping an eye on our Scarlett. We hear that you told her that you are her Godfather." Oliver grinned at him and he nodded slowly,  
"I was rather shocked to say the least at how she reacted. I expected her to act like you, Elya," he said smirking at Elya who rolled her eyes and hit his arm playfully, "But she hugged me." Snape said and Elya put her hand over her heart and smiled warmly,  
"I also told her about Draco." He said slowly and they both nodded, "They call each other Godbrother and Godsister when they aren't around friends." Snape chuckled deeply, and Elya smiled.  
Oliver patted his wife on the shoulder, "We best be off.", Snape moved out of the way so they could go back home.

* * *

Draco walked into the Great Hall and was swamped with Slytherins asking him questions; he pushed past them all and headed straight for Gryffindor table.  
"Potter, Granger, Weasley." Draco nodded to each of them and they looked at him and Ron rolled his eyes,  
"What do you want Malfoy?" he demanded, getting off the bench, he stood an arm's length away from him and narrowed his eyes, and Draco folded his arms across his chest,  
"Calm down, I need to speak with you all, in private." Draco said and stepped back from Ron, waiting for a response.  
He was shocked to see Harry stand up straight away, along with Hermione.  
"Follow me." Draco turned on his heel and walked out of the Great Hall followed by Harry, Hermione and an annoyed Ron.  
Draco led them to outside of the infirmary, he stopped to turn and face them with his arms folded,  
"Why are we here Dra-Malfoy?" Hermione said, nearly calling Draco by his first name. He turned to Hermione and raised his eyebrow,  
"Scarlett's in there." He said quietly looking behind Harry to see if there was anyone coming,  
"We know, we was there when it happened, Draco. We aren't allowed to bloody see her." Harry said, frowning and not caring that he had called Draco by his first name, he actually wanted to like Draco, to be friends.

* * *

Draco nearly choked when he heard Harry call him by his first name and he bit his lip to stop himself from smiling, he shook the thoughts away,  
"Yes, I know you aren't allowed to see her, but Madam Pomfrey has gone to lunch. Let's go in." Draco spoke quickly and opening the door before any of them could say anything, as they walked in there was an overpowering smell of Potions. Hermione cried out and pointed to the bed that Scarlett was in, she rushed over and Harry practically sprinted over to her bedside. Hermione peered down at Scarlett who was a deathly pale colour, almost grey,  
"Oh god." Harry managed to croak out, Hermione turned to Harry and rubbed his arm comfortingly, Draco stood by the door as he watched them take in what had happened to her.  
After almost fifteen minutes Draco walked over and sighed,  
"We need to go to class now; Madam Pomfrey will be back any minute." Draco murmured, gazing over at Scarlett. Hermione got up and straightened her uniform,  
"Yes, we need to go to class. Come on Harry, Ron." She said quietly, wiping her eyes.  
They all left the Infirmary and didn't say a word to anyone as they walked to Charms together.

* * *

During Charms, Harry found himself gazing out of the window constantly; he glanced over at Hermione and Ron who seemed to be doing exactly the same even after Professor Flitwick had told them that if they continued, they would be getting a detention.  
They we're sitting on benches, the Gryffindor's sat on one side of the room on benches and Slytherin's sat on the opposite benches.  
Harry's eyes fell on Draco, he almost fell out of his seat as he realised that the blond was staring back at him. Draco had sat rather peculiarly today; he sat far away from Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle who kept turning around and shooting Draco deathly glares from the row in front. Harry sighed and looked down at his parchment and began writing, he occasionally looked up at Draco and bit his lip. He looked over at Hermione who had almost finished writing, they had been instructed to write a whole page of parchment about various different Charms and why they are useful.  
"Okay everyone! Pack away your things." Professor Flitwick announced and a few groans were heard from people who clearly hadn't finished writing. Harry quickly signed his name at the top of his parchment and handed it to Ron, who handed it to Hermione and all the way over to Professor Flitwick  
"You all may leave now!" Professor Flitwick announced and Harry looked up at Draco once again and Draco stared back at him.  
Draco shifted a bit and looked down at his feet, he straightened up as he realised a tear escaped his eye; he violently wiped his eye and walked out briskly. Harry looked over at Hermione and Ron who thankfully hadn't noticed Draco crying, but Harry had.  
"Hey, guys I'm just going to ask Malfoy something real quick. You guys go to next lesson, I'll meet you there." Harry lied and ignored Hermione calling after him as he walked out of the classroom and turned to follow Draco.

* * *

Harry followed Draco all the way to the Black Lake; from further away he watched as Draco fell on his knees and buried his head in his hands. Harry rushed over to him unsure why he cared so much that Draco was upset.  
"Draco." Harry said kneeling next to Draco, Draco stiffened as he felt Harry rubbing circles on his back; Harry frowned as he felt Draco lean into the touch and as he felt numerous scars on Draco's back, he knew what scars felt like because he had many himself. Draco looked up at Harry and half smiled,  
"I'm sorry." Draco blurted out and looked away from Harry who frowned at him,  
"What for?" Harry asked tilting his head, he took his hand away from Draco's back,  
"For being such an idiot to you and Ron." Draco frowned, he was angry with himself because he had promised himself that he wouldn't become his father.  
Harry sighed and nodded, "I forgive you."  
Draco shot up and stared at Harry, looking for any sign to show that he was joking, "You what?"  
Harry stood up and brushed himself off, he held out a hand to help Draco up, "I said," he spoke pulling him up, "I forgive you." He finished and a smile crept on his face,  
"Really?"  
"Really."  
Draco was beaming and he bit his lip as he realised that Harry was holding his hand and he was rather liking the feeling, but it was soon over as Harry let go of his hand,  
"Harry." "Draco." They said at the same time and Harry blushed slightly,  
"What, Harry?" Draco asked, looking through his bag to check he had his books ready for Potions,  
"I was wondering... If maybe you would like to be friends with us?" Harry asked biting his lip, Draco dropped his bag on the floor and he quickly picked it back up.  
He stared at Harry and smiled, "I would like that a lot." He smirked as Harry wiped his forehead in mock exhaustion "You know, I've wanted to ask that all day." Harry commented and turned and walked up the path, with Draco Malfoy walking next to him. Draco didn't care that Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle we're yelling at him to go over to them, he didn't care when a fifth year pushed into him, nor did he care when Filch was shouting at him, because Draco Malfoy was gone to the world.

* * *

**A/N: Aww, Draco is sweet. Sorry about this chapter coming out late, but anyway Draco is now friends with them, yay!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:  
I broke up from school yesterday meaning I'll have lots of time to update, hooray!**

* * *

Harry had explained everything with Draco to Ron and Hermione. Harry was surprised when Ron and Hermione agreed to be friends with Draco.  
Harry sat up in the Astronomy Tower – that Dumbledore told him about - in his pyjama's, looking out at the stars he smiled happily and brought his knees up to his chest and sighed in content,  
"It's beautiful up here isn't it, Harry." Came the soft voice of Scarlett, Harry turned his head quickly and there in front of him was Scarlett in her Golden Snitch pyjama's with a bandage around her head, she was staring out into the night sky.  
Harry shot up, "What are you doing here?" he asked, tilting his head and looking her over, she looked fine, but surely Madam Pomfrey hadn't let her out of the Infirmary yet, she had only been there for two days,  
"I got released from the Infirmary earlier. I was up here earlier because I overheard Professor McGonagall saying there were no classes up here for a few days, and I've just come back from the bathroom." Scarlett said softly, still staring up at the stars.  
"Are you sure Madam Pomfrey let you out, you've only been there for a two days?" Harry frowned and he too found himself looking back up at the stars,  
"Yes. You know Harry, I saw you and Draco earlier, I was with Dumbledore for a while today." Scarlett said and looked Harry in the eye as she smirked and folded her arms,  
"Yeah, he's our friend." Harry smiled and sat back down facing Scarlett as she sat down opposite him and smiled widely, but her smile faded,  
"Harry, can I tell you something?" she asked curiously, unsure of how Harry was going to react,  
"Sure, go ahead." Harry replied nodding,  
Scarlett took a deep breath and bit her lip, "Well, I suppose there's no easy way to say this, but Professor Snape is my Godfather, and Draco is kind of like my Godbrother because Sev is his Godfather too." Scarlett blurted out and watched as Harry's eyes went wide and then back to normal,  
"That's... cool." Harry admitted, his eyes suddenly going very dull, Scarlett could tell that Harry was sad about something,  
"Harry, what's wrong?" Scarlett asked, leaning towards him and rubbing his arm. Harry jumped back and stood up.  
"Nothing is wrong! Leave me _alone_!" Harry yelled at her and stormed off back to Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

Scarlett sighed and too decided to walk back to Gryffindor, as she walked down the spiralling stone stairs, she heard Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall talking and the voices seemed to be getting louder and coming closer to her,  
"My lion, oh my poor lion, Albus, do something, please." Minerva pleaded in a worried tone that made Scarlett frown,  
"Yes, Minnie, Harry Potter must not return to the Dursley's." Albus replied, shaking his head and was surprisingly calm,  
"Then... Who must he stay with?" Minerva questioned, tilting her head and looking towards Albus as they walked up the stairs slowly,  
"The Lawton's." Albus replied instantly without hesitation, "They have one child. Scarlett Lawton, she is friends with Harry. I have discussed this with them and they gladly accepted."  
Scarlett froze as she replayed the conversation through her head, Harry Potter would be living with her. In her house. Every day. Scarlett silently cheered in her head and slowly returned to the top of the Astronomy Tower with Dumbledore and McGonagall not far behind, Scarlett sat down once again and had a huge smile, she turned her head as she saw a familiar white beard followed by Professor McGonagall,  
"Hello, Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall." Scarlett said nodding her head towards them both, she leant against the stone railing,  
"Scarlett, my child, why are you not in bed?" Dumbledore asked walking towards Scarlett and placing his hand on his shoulder, she peered up into his twinkling eyes and felt tears coming into her eyes, she smiled brightly,  
"Scarlett, are you alright, dear?" Minerva asked walking closer to her and looking into her eyes worried,  
Scarlett turned to her and nodded still smiling,  
"Thank you." She said, tears spilling over her eyes, she didn't bother to wipe them.  
"What for, dear?" Minerva asked, rubbing Scarlett's arm, however she was sure she knew what for,  
"Harry Potter! ... Harry Potter!" she exclaimed, tears rapidly falling down her face, she quickly hugged both Professors who were speechless and she turned to the stairs and took one last look at her Professors and she saw Dumbledore's eyes twinkling madly. She giggled and sprinted to Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

She burst through the portrait even though it was almost midnight and she was confronted with a tearful Harry Potter, he wrapped his scrawny arms around her and was shouting words at her quickly,  
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please forgive me I didn't mean to snap! Sorry! Sorry!"  
She hugged him tightly and felt him sobbing in her shoulder, but she didn't care, right now all she cared about was Harry.  
"Harry I need to ask you something serious." She said breaking apart the hug, she bit her lip and looked Harry in the eye,  
"How would you feel about living... with me... and my parents?" she asked slowly and watched as Harry's eyes went wide and he opened his mouth but no sound came out.  
Scarlett and Harry stared at each other for five minutes until a huge smile broke out on Harry's face,  
"I... would like that very much." He said quietly to her and she grinned. Suddenly Harry hugged her tightly,  
"Thank you. Thank you." He repeated and Scarlett nodded, she peered over at the clock and frowned,  
"Blimey it's midnight, we better be going to bed." She said walking towards the spiral stairs leading to the Girls Dorms, and Harry walked towards the other stairs leading to the Boys Dorms,  
"Goodnight Harry." She called out behind her,  
"Goodnight Scarlett." Harry said quietly, not wanting to wake the boys.

* * *

Harry woke up the next morning with a big grin on his face, he kept replaying his conversation with Scarlett, he had woken up earlier than Ron, of which was unsurprising, he headed down to the bathroom to shower and after he had finished he put on his robes.  
He walked out of the bathroom and headed back up to Gryffindor Tower, he crept in to his Dorm once again to fetch his bag, timetable and books.  
"Hello Harry." Came the voice of Hermione that made Harry jump, he peered over the balcony just outside of the dorm and saw Hermione peering up at him over the top of her book, he rushed down to her and sat next to her,  
"Hi Hermione!" he exclaimed cheerfully,  
Hermione put down her book and smiled at him,  
"You seem cheerful today. Oh, and I forgot to tell you... Well it was more because I couldn't find you, where did you go? Oh never mind, Scarlett was admitted from the Infirmary last night!" she said quickly and smiled at Harry who nodded and explained where he was and what Scarlett had said to him, after he finished speaking Hermione had one eyebrow raised,  
"I wonder why she asked if you wanted to live with her?" she spoke quietly, more to herself than to Harry.  
Harry bit his lip and shrugged, he really didn't want to tell someone who he had only met a few weeks ago about his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, even if Hermione was his friend he still didn't want her to know.  
Hermione shrugged too and nodded towards the boys balcony where a tired Ron was trudging down towards them,  
"Hey Harry, Hermione." He yawned and stretched whilst looking over at the clock and groaning,  
"Oh for goodness sake Ronald, it's 6am, it's not _that _early, Harry here was up half an hour ago." Hermione lectured throwing her arms in the air and then folding them across her chest,  
"Exactly." Ron groaned, he really wasn't a morning person and had woke up when Harry left the dorm after getting his things,  
"Oh and Ronald you _could _have _at least _had a shower." Hermione pointed out wrinkling up her nose in disgust,  
"Too early." Ron pouted and sat the opposite side of Harry, who was struggling not to laugh.  
Hermione just rolled her eyes and got off the couch,  
"I'm going up to the Girls Dorm to get my books."  
Harry nodded to her and turned to Ron,  
"Exploding Snap?" Harry asked, and Ron instantly pulled out his pack of Exploding Snap cards.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:  
Philosopher's Stone storyline will be back in the next few chapters. Also Sev is rather OOC.**

* * *

They we're just about to start playing when Hermione ran out of the dorm along with two other girls who were very pale and looked worried. Hermione was shouting at Harry and Ron to go and get Professor McGonagall, both Harry and Ron obeyed and walked quickly to Professor McGonagall's office. Harry and Ron both banged on the door as hard as they could before a familiar face opened the door, Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall we're both in their robes looking worried,  
"Potter, Weasley... Care to explain?" Snape asked rather quickly after seeing that the boys were clearly both in distress,  
"We don't know Hermione told us to get you!" they both shouted at once and Professor Snape rolled his eyes,  
"If this is something ridiculous like a spider in the bedroom _all _of you shall have detention!" Snape sneered, walking out into the corridor followed by one confused Professor McGonagall.  
"Severus, I do believe that Miss Granger would gladly get rid of a spider herself." McGonagall pointed out, and Snape just grunted in reply.

* * *

They eventually made it to Gryffindor Tower where Hermione and the two other girls we're sitting on the couch, but Hermione was pacing around the room,  
"Miss Granger, whatever is the matter?" Professor McGonagall asked calmly, and Hermione turned to her with wide eyes and gestured towards the Girls Dorm. In an instant Professor McGonagall was up there standing in the doorway, she turned around and was very pale,  
"Professor Snape would you come up here please." She said her voice wobbling.  
Snape rolled his eyes and made his way up the stone stairs, his robes billowing out behind him, he made his way to the Girls Dorm and stood in the doorway, he was greeted with a familiar sight. Scarlett was violently writhing in her bed, Severus was instantly at her side with Minerva at the other side and they were both trying to wake her when she sat up suddenly wide eyed with tears streaming down her face.  
Minerva stepped back and watched in amazement as Severus sat on the bed and pulled Scarlett onto his lap and started rubbing her back,  
"It's okay... It's okay... you're in Hogwarts... you're safe." He whispered to her and silently wondered what was causing this terrible nightmare. Minerva left the room as Severus rocked back on forth with his Goddaughter on his lap, after almost an hour Scarlett was silent and Minerva walked back into the room,  
"Is she okay?" Minerva asked and Severus nodded, Scarlett peered up into her eyes and looked down in embarrassment,  
"Sorry Professor McGonagall... for my actions, I didn't mea-" Scarlett said but was cut off by Minerva shaking her head,  
"These things happen, dear. It was your friends that got us." Professor McGonagall spoke gently and smiled at her warmly and then left the room,  
"I'm sorry." Scarlett repeated to her Godfather but he just shook his head and hugged her,  
"It's not your fault." He said sternly and stood up with her in his arms and placed her down,  
"Do you think you will be able to go to class?" he asked and placed his hands on her shoulders as he looked down at her as she bit her lip and slowly nodded,  
"Good girl." He said and smiled at her,  
"I'll get my robes on for class." Scarlett nodded and opened her trunk to get her robes. Severus sighed and left the room silently promising to himself that he would ask her later what the nightmare was about.

* * *

Harry and Ron sat in Potions bored out of their minds. Snape was moaning on and on about what you need to do to potions to stabilise them, and what to do if something goes wrong,  
"Mr Potter, what have I just said?" Snape asked spinning on his heel and glaring at him.  
Harry straightened up and bit his lip,  
"No? How about you, Mr Weasley?" Snape sneered, doing his best evil glare,  
"I... don't know Sir." Ron mumbled out, and bit his nail,  
"Pay. Attention. Or you will have detention." Snape growled and carried on walking around the class, sometimes stopping to glare at someone.  
Harry decided then that he should listen more in class.

* * *

That day went very slow for Harry. He had just entered the Common Room with his friends after dinner when he noticed something pinned on the Gryffindor Notice Board,  
**_GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH PRACTICE, 7AM TOMORROW._**  
Harry groaned, tomorrow was Saturday and he was looking forward to sleeping in late which was something he had never been allowed to do at the Dursley's, no at the Dursley's he had to be up at around 6am to cook breakfast.  
"Good luck getting up that early, mate." Ron said smirking and Harry rolled his eyes,  
"Honestly Ronald, I'm sure that Harry will be able to." Hermione said peering over the top of her book.  
Scarlett walked over to Harry, she had been picking up her books after Draco had purposely knocked them out of her hands so that he could pass her a note that she hadn't read yet,  
"Hmm?" she said absentmindedly and looked at the notice board,  
"7am." She repeated and nodded to herself,  
"Aren't you bothered that its _horribly _early?" Ron asked, one eyebrow raised,  
"Uh... no... I...uh... no." She said, she was used to it whenever she went to go and stay with her horrible uncle,  
"See Ronald. They're fine with it, aren't you?" Hermione asked curiously,  
"Yeah." Harry said shrugging, he sat down at the Study table with Ron and started to do his homework when Ron leant closer to him,  
"Hey Harry, how come you've been asked to move in with Scarlett?" he whispered to Harry who looked up and shook his head,  
"I... don't want to talk about it." Harry admitted and leant back in his chair and folded his arms, he looked over Ron's shoulder and saw Scarlett reading a book,  
"Okay, but you know Harry, even though I haven't known you that long, I would help you with anything." Ron smiled sympathetically and Harry smiled at him, grateful to know that Ron would help him if he needed anything,  
"Hey Scarlett!" Harry called over, remembering that he wanted to ask Scarlett if she was allowed to play Quidditch and to talk about arrangements about where Harry would live,  
"Yeah?" she yelled back gaining looks of disapproval from some people,  
"Can you even play Quidditch, with what happened to your head?" Harry shouted,  
"Yeah I asked Madam Pomfrey before I left about Quidditch and she said I can play as long as I don't try and do like a wicked flip or something." Scarlett shouted and nodded her head at the same time,  
Harry just nodded and carried on his homework.

* * *

Harry and Scarlett walked with Oliver onto the Quidditch Pitch and grinned,  
"Now I want you both to remember that while you're playing for this team we want you to try your hardest in all matches." Oliver stated and looked at his team,  
"Hello Harry, Scarlett." Each of the team members said and patted them both on the shoulder,  
"Hey it's Fred and George!" Scarlett shouted and pointed behind everyone to Fred and George who we're rushing down the hill,  
"Sorry that we are," Fred started to explain when George interrupted,  
"Late, Oliver, we forgot,"  
"The time." They said at the same time which made Harry and Scarlett giggle quietly  
"I'll let you off, seeing as it's the first practice. Oh and we had to delay because of a certain someone," Oliver looked at Scarlett who blushed slightly, "That ended up in the Infirmary."  
Oliver clapped his hands together and smiled, "Let's get started!" and another team member opened a trunk with three balls in, he got out a random one and turned to Scarlett and Harry,  
"This is the Quaffle, the three Chasers," Oliver said pointing towards two boys and a girl who smiled at them, "The three Chasers get this in the opponents hoops." He continued nodding towards three hoops at the end of the pitch,  
Oliver handed the Quaffle to the girl who leant towards them as Oliver turned to get another ball, "I'm Angelina." She said quietly and shook their hands,  
Oliver turned around and struggled to keep the ball he was holding still,  
"This... is... the Bludger." He said and gasped as he accidentally let go of it and it flew up in the air and shot straight back down towards them, Scarlett and Harry jumped back and Angelina ran over and grabbed the ball before it hit Harry in the head, she frowned and shook her head at Oliver,  
"Be careful, Oliver." She hissed and tilted her head towards a frightened Harry and Scarlett,  
Oliver nodded and put the Bludger back in the trunk before getting out the last ball and smirking,  
"This... is the Golden Snitch." He said proudly and held it out to Harry who raised his eyebrow and took it; he opened his palm and a little golden ball shot out of his hand,  
"Well, go get it... Let's see what you two are made of." Oliver said and nodded towards the Snitch that was hovering in the air,  
"Alright." Scarlett smirked and mounted her broom and waited for Harry to mount his,  
"Let's go!" Harry smirked and kicked off into the air, he shot off towards the Snitch with Scarlett by his side, they shot glances at each other every few seconds, Harry and Scarlett both leant forward and reached out to grab the Snitch, which moved very quickly further in front of them.  
Scarlett broke away from Harry and leant forwards more, she raised her hand cautiously and reached out for the Snitch, at exactly the same time Harry reached forward, they ended up grabbing the Snitch at the same time, Scarlett's hand underneath Harry's, they both looked at each other and blushed, Harry took away his hand and turned towards Oliver who was grinning from ear to ear, Harry landed gracefully along with Scarlett in front of Oliver and handed him the Snitch, he smirked at them, he turned and shouted at his team,  
"Looks like Professor McGonagall chose good Seeker's!"


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:  
Philosophers Stone plot is back!**

* * *

A few weeks had passed since Harry and Scarlett's first Quidditch Practice, and they had had many more after that, Oliver insisted that they Practice early so that no other teams would be awake to spy on them.  
It was Halloween and they we're all sitting at the Gryffindor table eating lunch when Harry stopped eating and put down his spoon and stared at the wall opposite him,  
"Harry?" Hermione asked, noticing Harry's sudden change in expression,  
"Ouch." Harry gasped and rubbed his scar, they all quickly shot their heads to whatever Harry was looking at and saw Professor Quirrel,  
"Professor Quirrel? Harry is your scar hurting?" Scarlett asked confused and Harry nodded but then shrugged,  
"Probably nothing." Harry concluded and quickly changed the subject to what lessons they have next,  
"Charms." Hermione stated and got off the bench,  
"Let's go." Scarlett sighed and all four of them walked to Charms silently.

* * *

"Where is Hermione?" Scarlett frowned and looked down the table and all around the Great Hall to see if she could see Hermione, but she couldn't. She turned back to see a blushing Ron and Harry rolling his eyes,  
"Ron called Hermione a know-it-all and mocked her." Harry sighed and shook his head, just as Scarlett was about to shout at Ron when the Great Hall doors swung open and Professor Quirrel ran in,  
"TROOOOOOOLL IN THE DUNGEONS! I thought you'd want to know." He screamed and fainted,  
everyone was silent for about two seconds and then mayhem started, everyone started screaming and pushing to leave the Great Hall,  
"QUIET!" Dumbledore roared and everyone stopped and stared at him, "You will all return to your Common Rooms."  
Everyone ran out and straight to their Common Rooms, Harry stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face Ron and Scarlett,  
"Hermione doesn't know!" he hissed and ran down the corridor to find her.

* * *

Hermione left the cubicle she was in and sniffed, she felt rotten. She didn't mean to be such a know-it-all, she just wanted to be a really good muggle-born witch and prove that muggle-borns were not stupid people. She stopped and wiped her eyes quickly, she saw huge feet on the floor and slowly looked up to see a mountain troll glaring at her and its club was mere metres above her head, she screamed and dived under the sinks just as Harry, Ron and Scarlett ran into the room,  
"Hermione!" Scarlett shouted and the club swung down and broke most of the sinks that we're just in front of where Hermione was cowering. Harry grimaced and turned to the troll and realised he had no idea what to do,  
"Your wand Harry! Use your wand!" Hermione shouted, Harry shivered as an adrenaline rush came through him, the next thing he realised he was on the back of the troll and the troll was swinging around trying to shake him off but Harry had a firm grip on his neck,  
"_Alohamora!_" came the voice of Ron which surprised them all, Harry and Scarlett both looked up and grinned as they saw the club above the trolls head, Ron quickly made the club fall on the trolls head. Hermione gasped as she remembered that Harry was on the back of the troll and he was now holding on for dear life, the troll collapsed and Harry's wand went straight up the troll's nose,  
"Gross!" Harry groaned as he removed his wand from the trolls nose,  
"Troll bogey's!" Ron heaved and had to turn around. Just as Professor's Snape, McGonagall and Dumbledore came rushing into the bathroom.  
"Oh." Scarlett said quietly.

* * *

"Irresponsible! Foolish! Ridiculous! I have a list of many words about your actions!" Snape roared as he banged his fist on Dumbledore's desk and glared at the four children in front of him,  
"You could have all _DIED_!"  
"It was my fault, Sir. You see... I thought I could handle the troll on my own, I went looking for it, luckily Harry, Ron and Scarlett found me." Hermione lied and Ron tried hard not to look shocked,  
"Severus," Dumbledore said and Snape glared at him, he didn't like when people used his first name in situations like this.  
Dumbledore walked closer towards the children, "You have put yourselves in serious danger to save the school from being destroyed by a mountain troll... And for that I think it would be fitting to award you each 50 house points." He smiled his eyes twinkling madly.  
Professor McGonagall nodded her head, "Indeed... Now you shall all return to Gryffindor Common Room immediately. Good night Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape." She said sternly and guided the four trouble-makers back to Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

The next day at dinner, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Scarlett were eating and were surprised to see a very nervous looking Draco Malfoy walking over to them,  
"Can I... sit with you?" Draco asked quietly,  
"Sure!" Hermione smiled warmly and moved up so that he could sit on the bench,  
"What's Malfoy doing here?" sneered a third year that made Draco wince,  
"Shut your mouth he's our friend," Scarlett spat out and the whole of the Great Hall went silent,  
"Are you mad!"  
"He'll kill you!"  
"Don't be stupid everyone knows that Malfoy's don't befriend Gryffindor's"  
Draco frowned and jumped off the bench,  
"SHUT UP! I CAN BE FRIENDS WITH WHOEVER I WANT! I DONT WANT TO BECOME LIKE MY FATHER!" he yelled and everyone stared at him as he ran out of the Great Hall,  
"Come on!" Harry growled and chased after Draco along with Hermione, Ron and Scarlett.  
"He's at the lake!" Scarlett shouted before they vanished from the Great Hall.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:**  
Sorry about there being no update for a while, it was my birthday on November 3rd!  
**WARNING: Child abuse :(**

* * *

Draco Malfoy stood next to the dock and stared out over the lake. Severus walked forward and stared at his Godson,  
"Everyone thinks I'm going to be like my... father." He growled.  
Scarlett stood next to Harry, "Draco, you _will_ prove everyone wrong. Prove everyone you aren't like your father. I believe that you could change, Draco. We all believe in you. Draco, please..." She whimpered, her bottom lip trembling. She heard a noise behind her and looked over her shoulder to see Snape walking towards her, she walked closer to Draco and took both his hands,  
"You are nothing like your father." Snape spoke and Draco shook his head,  
"I have to be like my father."  
"What do you mean?" Scarlett asked and looked at him with worried eyes,  
"I have to be like my father... or else he... he..." Draco stuttered and looked at his Godfather,  
"Can we go to your office?" Draco whispered and Snape had never been so relieved to hear those six words,  
"Of course. Do you want your friends to be in there too?" Snape asked and beckoned his Godchildren forward, Draco looked at each of them,  
"Only Scarlett... and Harry." Draco said shooting apologetic looks at Hermione and Ron.

* * *

When they reached Severus' office he sat straight down in his chair and told Scarlett and Harry to sit.  
"What's wrong Draco?" Severus asked and gestured for Draco to come to him,  
"My father... he..." Draco stuttered, he couldn't bring himself to say it, he looked into Severus' eyes,  
"You know what to do." Draco murmured and Severus nodded,  
"_Legilimens_." Severus spoke and he found himself in Malfoy Manor.  
This was a part he hadn't seen in a long time, Draco's bedroom, Severus turned and froze at the sight before him, a twelve year old Draco was standing against his bedroom wall, his arms above his head and his shirt torn off,  
"Foolish boy!" growled Lucius walking into the room with a leather belt in his hands, he strode over to Draco and brought the belt down on Draco's back, Severus' eyes went wide as his eyes focused and he saw multiple scars on Draco's back and then Severus realised that this must have been in the Summer Holidays, he watched as Lucius whipped Draco faster and faster until finally Draco cried out in pain and fell to the floor, a pool of blood surrounding him.  
Severus pulled himself out of Draco's mind and grabbed Draco and hugged him hard, Draco started sobbing into his shoulder,  
"I will help you, Dragon.." Severus murmured and held him as he cried, eventually after about half an hour Draco started to fall asleep on his lap, Severus stood up with Draco in his arms,  
"Stay here." He instructed to Scarlett and Harry who looked confused and worried, they both nodded and Severus strode out of the room to his personal chambers and placed a sleeping Draco on his bed.

* * *

Severus walked back to his office and sat behind his desk and sighed, he gestured for Harry and Scarlett to sit in the two chairs in front of his desk, they sat down and Harry bit his lip,  
"Draco has been... Abused." Severus stated and watched as Scarlett's eyes went watery and Harry went pale.  
"What do you mean abused?" Harry said quietly, and he thought to when his Uncle had beaten him almost senseless and then shoved him in his cupboard, but he pushed away the thoughts, how dare he be so selfish, this was about Draco, not him.  
"His father abused him, hit him with a belt." Snape sighed and rubbed his temples silently,  
Scarlett stared at her Godfather and bowed her head, she thought about the couple of weeks before she came to Hogwarts and her Uncle had hit her with a belt, every night. She decided not to mention this though.  
"What now, Sir?" Scarlett asked and Severus gazed at the Parchment on his desk and straightened up in his chair,  
"I have an idea."  
"What idea?"  
"I will ask his father if Draco could stay with me over the holidays, that way he shall be safe." Snape nodded and smirked,  
"That sounds like a good idea." Harry nodded and Scarlett got out of her chair,  
"I think we have to go now, Sev." Scarlett smiled sadly and walked to the door with Harry behind her,  
"Goodbye Scarlett, Harry." Severus nodded to them both as they left his office.  
"_Accio Parchment and Quill_" Severus said and began writing to Lucius, asking if Draco could stay with him over the Christmas Holiday because he wanted to 'teach Draco some advanced spells.'  
He finished the letter and walked over to his owl, Gobble; he attached the letter to the owl's claw and sent it off to Malfoy Manor.

* * *

Draco woke suddenly and looked around in confusion; he was in Severus' personal chambers. He got out of the bed quickly and started breathing fast and in short breaths when Severus came into the room with a glass of water and rushed over to him, Severus sat on the bed and pulled Draco next to him and started rubbing circles on his back being careful not to hurt his scar, Draco eventually calmed down,  
"I'm sorry, Uncle Sev." Draco murmured and Severus shook his head,  
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Dragon." He replied and Draco fumbled with the hem of his shirt,  
"I have asked your father if you could stay with me over the holidays. I said that I wanted to teach you advanced spells." Severus explained and Draco nodded staring at the floor silently. Severus sighed,  
"Why didn't you tell me before, Draco?"  
"Because if my father found out that you knew..." Draco trailed off and sighed, "He would probably kill both of us."  
Severus got off the bed and so did Draco, "May I go to the Common Room, Sev?" Draco asked, he wanted some peace and quiet so he could read, he enjoyed reading a lot.  
"You may." Severus nodded and watched as Draco left the room. Severus spelled the door shut and locked it; he collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Draco slowly walked into the Slytherin common room and only had time to gasp before almost every Slytherin student was standing in front of him,  
"_Silencio_!" he heard someone say before someone took his wand and threw it in the corner,  
"Stupid little Malfoy. Befriending Gryffindor's." A third year sneered at him and everyone nodded in agreement, Draco backed up against the wall and stood up straight, he knew this would come eventually,  
"You are a disgrace." Spat his own friends, Crabbe and Goyle, Pansy strode up to him,  
"Filth." She growled and punched him in the stomach. Draco stood still and looked up to the ceiling, he looked forward just to see a fist, and then everything went black.  
Meanwhile, Scarlett shot up in her bed and screamed, at exactly the same time, Harry Potter did too.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Sorry it's taken so long for me to update I've had some stuff going on IRL :)**

* * *

Scarlett quickly clasped her hand over her mouth; she looked at the girls next to her and sighed with relief as all they did was move slightly.  
She remembered what her dream was about just and shot out of bed, something was telling her it wasn't just a dream. She quickly put on her gown and ran out of the dorm, she stopped in her tracks as she noticed Harry quickly walking to the portrait,  
"Harry! Wait!" Scarlett hissed and Harry jumped and turned to her,  
"Something is wrong. Something is wrong with Draco." Harry spoke and Scarlett grabbed his arm, Harry winced but luckily Scarlett didn't notice, he still had various cuts and bruises from his Uncle Vernon there.  
Scarlett ran with Harry out of the portrait and down the stairs, "We need to find Snape." She stated and Harry nodded, they ran all to way to the Slytherin Dungeons, they had to stop a few times to hide in the alcoves from Professors and Filch.  
Scarlett and Harry raced down the freezing cold stairs to the dungeons,  
"Bloody freezing." Scarlett mumbled and she let go of Harry's arm, which Harry was glad, and sprinted down the short corridor to Professor Snape's Office.  
She banged on the door loudly. There was no reply. She banged even louder and even screamed a few times until finally there came a deep voice behind her and Harry, who was looking rather worried,  
"Scarlett, Harry, What on earth are you doing out of your dorms at this time of night?" Snape hissed and glared down at them both,  
"TheressomethingwrongwithDrac o," Scarlett cried out and Severus raised his eyebrow, "Please, Sev! Please go check if Draco is okay!"  
Severus sighed and turned on his heel and strode over to the Slytherin Portrait,  
"Wait. Here." He said sternly and they both nodded, Severus glared at the man on the portrait who gasped and ran off, he walked through muttering something about time-wasting Gryffindor's.

* * *

Severus made his way up the stairs towards the boys dorm, his robes billowing out behind him, there were no Slytherins in the Common Room which was quite odd, they usually stayed up ridiculously late, he walked over to the first year Boys Dorm and opened the door slightly, the sight in front of him almost made him throw up,  
Draco was curled up into a ball on his bed covering in blood from head to toe,  
his shirt torn off revealing scars from his father and lots of cuts with blood pouring out onto his already blood stained bed, his arm and leg were straight out in front of him in an awkward position, clearly broken. Severus ran over to Draco's bed and stared down at him,  
"S...ev." Draco whispered and then he went limp, Severus picked him up carefully and sprinted out of the Boys Dorm, making sure all the boys we're still sleeping, he would certainly deal with them later, he sprinted out of the Portrait and immediately Scarlett and Harry shot to his side and they all ran to the Infirmary.

Severus blasted open the doors with a flick of his wrist, and placed Draco on a nearby bed, Scarlett and Harry stood in the corner with their eyes wide open.  
"Madam Pomfrey! Madam Pomfrey!" Severus cried out and a lady in a nightgown appeared from a door,  
"What is the matter, Severus?" she asked calmly and Severus pointed towards the bed in which lay a broken and bleeding Draco Malfoy.  
Madam Pomfrey immediately sprung into her work, waving her wand around and even changing her outfit somehow, she was running various tests and after about five minutes everything died down and she peered down at some parchment.  
"Fractured rib, fractured ankle and a broken right arm, and lots of cuts," She sighed and continued reading "caused by various curses from Slytherins no doubt. I have seen the looks that Slytherins give him when they see him with Harry and Scarlett."  
Severus sighed and sat in a chair next to Draco who had lots of bandages on his arm, torso and leg.  
"Severus, do you know anything about those scars on his stomach and back?" Madam Pomfrey asked quietly,  
"Lucius." He spat out and snarled, Madam Pomfrey frowned and turned to Harry and Scarlett who were both stood still and were very pale,  
"Back to Gryffindor Tower, both of you. Take these Dreamless Sleep potions." Madam Pomfrey instructed walking into her office and pulling out two vials filled with Dreamless Sleep. Scarlett and Harry both nodded and left to go back to Gryffindor Tower.  
"Oh Severus you must do something about Lucius.." Madam Pomfrey cried out, and Severus nodded,  
"I am trying, I really am."

* * *

Draco woke up at three in the morning and it was pitch black outside, Draco had a dim light next to him and he could see the outline of a figure in the chair next to him was watching him,  
"Uncle Sev." Draco croaked and the figure leant forward and handed him a glass of water, Draco gulped it down and Severus just watched him silently,  
"It was the Slytherins, I... I don't know if I can go back to Slytherin Tower." Draco said and Severus nodded,  
"Of course not. You shall be moved into my quarters." Severus stated and Draco's stared at his Uncle,  
"R...Really?" Draco asked cautiously and Severus nodded,  
"I do believe that is what I said." Severus smirked and Draco rolled his eyes and yawned,  
"Go back to sleep." Severus instructed and Draco shook his head,  
"Not until you go to sleep. I don't want you tired for lessons tomorrow just because of me."  
Severus raised his eyebrow at Draco, that was a very un-Draco-like thing to say.  
Draco frowned and folded his arms, "Go back to your quarters Uncle Sev. If something is wrong I'll shout for Madam Pomfrey."  
Severus sighed and got out of his chair, "Alright as long as you don't go out of this room. Now sleep."  
"M'kay." Draco lied; he certainly wasn't going back to sleep.  
Severus nodded once and turned on his heel and was gone.  
Draco smirked and got out of bed and drank some pain remover potion, he limped over to the gigantic window because his bones still weren't completely set.  
Normally Madam Pomfrey would have come out to Draco by now because of her Distress Alarm, but she had turned that and every other alarm off because she thought Severus would stay all night and watch Draco.  
Draco sat on the window ledge and pulled his leg up being careful not to hurt his leg, he peered out onto the grounds of Hogwarts, there wasn't really much to see from here, just grass and trees.  
He was humming a song when he heard the door open slightly; he looked at the door quickly to see a girl and boy grinning at him, Scarlett and Harry.

* * *

They both ran over to him and Draco smiled,  
"How're you doing?" Scarlett asked worriedly and Draco moved so they could both sit with him,  
"I'm good, better than before." Draco admitted and Scarlett winced,  
"You've got a black eye you know." She said sadly, and Draco frowned,  
"Do I?"  
"Yeah, you do."  
"I didn't even know." Draco laughed and Harry sat on the window ledge with his legs stretched out,  
"So, what're you doing here?" Draco asked with his head cocked to the side,  
"We've come to see how you're doing of course!" Harry grinned and Scarlett nodded,  
"We sat around in the common room for a while then decided to sneak down here." She said,  
"You could've gotten caught by Uncle Sev you know." Draco said and they both nodded,  
"It would have been worth it. Where _is _Uncle Sev anyway?" Scarlett asked looking around the room, she had sat in between both boys with her legs dangling over the ledge,  
"I told him to go to bed." Draco smiled and peered out of the window again,  
Scarlett nodded and too looked out of the window,  
"It's Christmas soon," Draco said plainly and Scarlett nodded, "Are you guys staying or going home?"  
"Home. Harry is staying with me." Scarlett said and Draco raised an eyebrow,  
"Really? How come?" Draco asked peering over at Harry who was biting his lip,  
"His Aunt and Uncle don't like him that much." Scarlett said and Harry rolled his eyes, they _really_ didn't like him, a lot more than Draco and Scarlett imagined.  
Draco nodded understandingly, "I'm staying with Uncle Sev, and we're probably going to his home or stay here."  
Scarlett's eyes lit up, "Maybe we could persuade Uncle Sev to let me and Harry come over one of the days!" she exclaimed and Draco nodded enthusiastically,  
"That would be fun." Harry smiled and Draco yawned,  
"We should be getting back to Gryffindor Tower, come on Harry." Scarlett said and Harry walked over to her,  
"Bye guys, I'll see you later." Draco sighed and watched as Scarlett and Harry walked out, leaving Draco on his own.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I broke up for Christmas Break on the 19th, so I felt it would be fitting if Hogwarts also broke up for Christmas Break.**

* * *

It had been a few days since Scarlett and Harry had seen Draco, and Madam Pomfrey had finally given them permission to see him,  
"Come _on_ Harry!" Scarlett exclaimed, she walked very quickly through the empty corridors with her Gryffindor scarf blowing behind her and Harry following her,  
"Where are we going?" Harry asked loudly causing a few photo's to mumble and groan, Scarlett just giggled and stuck her tongue out at them,  
"We're going to see Draco!" Scarlett replied to him and he gasped, Scarlett had wanted to keep it a surprise from Harry.  
They turned the corner just in time to see Severus enter the Infirmary, they quickly entered also and Draco jumped out of bed,  
"Thank Merlin you're all here! I've been so _bloody _bored staring out of the window constantly!" Draco exclaimed throwing his arms in the air and pacing up and down between the beds,  
"Language, Draco." Severus scowled and Draco turned to Scarlett and rolled his eyes mocking Severus who shook his head and glared at him.  
"It's good to see you." Harry said quietly and Draco turned to Harry and gave him a big hug, much to Harry's discomfort due to his bruises,  
"Are you okay, Harry?" Draco asked worriedly, he had felt Harry tense under him,  
Harry just nodded silently and Severus raised his eyebrow but said nothing.  
"We break up for Christmas tomorrow!" Scarlett smiled changing the subject, she would ask Harry about why he looked odd later,  
Draco turned to Severus and looked worried, "Am I still staying with you, Uncle Sev? I can go home if I must, actually I probably should because if Dad finds out what we-"  
Severus frowned; Draco was asking him if he was still keeping his promise, "You are still staying with me, Draco." He nodded and Draco sighed with relief,  
"Uncle Seeeeev." Scarlett smiled and looked at Severus innocently and he smirked,  
"Yes, Scarlett?" he asked folding his arms,  
"Do you think... that maybe... me and Harry could come over and see Draco one of the days?" Scarlett asked and clasped her hands together,  
Severus nodded, "Of course you can. I shall discuss it with your parents, Scarlett."  
"Harry is staying with me, aren't you?" Scarlett said beaming,  
Harry smiled and nodded fearfully, feeling very nervous around Severus.  
"Well, I suppose it's time to face the world." Draco sighed, he hadn't been out of the Infirmary for three days because he was scared of the Slytherins, but now almost everyone had left Hogwarts to go home.  
"I have spoken to them." Severus said putting a hand on Draco's shoulder, he felt Draco lean in to the touch and a warm feeling came inside him, whatever it was he liked it.  
"We'll stay with you, promise." Scarlett said reassuringly,  
Severus pushed open the door to an empty corridor,  
"We shall go to my Quarters." Severus said and they all walked to the Dungeons not even noticing that Harry was limping behind them in agony.

* * *

When they reached Severus' Quarters, Harry was relieved to be able to finally sit down,  
"We are all going to leave tomorrow," Severus nodded, "Scarlett and Mr Potter, you two shall be travelling with me and staying for the first three days as Scarlett's mother and father have to do some important things. However, after the three days, you shall return to your mother and father. We can arrange dates that you can come over then." He continued, and all three of them nodded simultaneously.  
"I am going to my classroom for a few hours. I expect you all to stay put here, is that clear?" Severus asked and again all three of them nodded. Severus left the room and strode to his classroom, he had lots of papers to mark,  
"What are you and Professor Snape planning to do over the holidays?" Harry asked shifting a bit, his leg was really starting to hurt,  
"I'm not sure really. I hope he doesn't think I'm a... nuisance." Draco sighed and looked down at his lap,  
"Hey, don't think like that. Uncle Sev would do _anything _for you." Scarlett said raising her eyebrows at Draco who nodded,  
"I suppose you're right."  
"I _am _right," Scarlett smirked, and then looked around and sighed, "this is so boring!" she whined and looked out of the window,  
"How is there a window down here; I thought this was the Dungeons?" Harry asked with his head tilted,  
"It's charmed so that you can see outside." Draco grinned and got up to peer out of the window, it was starting to get dark and they had missed Dinner.  
"The sky is so pretty at night," Scarlett smiled and then yawned,  
"Why don't you go to sleep?" Draco suggested and Scarlett nodded, her eyes drooping she kicked off her shoes and immediately fell asleep, soon all three of them were fast asleep and that's how Severus found them.  
He didn't want to risk waking up three cranky children so he went to bed himself.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast Harry's leg was feeling better, but he was feeling a bit nervous about staying with Scarlett,  
"Are you sure your parents don't mind?" Harry questioned for the third time and Scarlett smiled,  
"Harry, my parents don't mind for the fourth time."  
Harry smiled back at her and nodded, still feeling a bit unsure, after breakfast they met Severus outside the entrance of Hogwarts with all their belongings,  
"We are going to have to apparate, your animals will come soon." Severus informed them whilst shrinking their luggage, Draco and Scarlett held Severus' hands and Harry held on to Scarlett's hand nervously, he had never apparated before. Harry felt like he was being pulled through a very small hole, like a straw.  
It finished as soon as it started and all three of them grabbed on to each other so they didn't fall over, they looked up to see a big old looking house,  
"Where are we?" Scarlett asked looking at the old house; it had ivy creeping up the walls and a very large door. Severus stepped in front of them and made their luggage normal sized again,  
"Welcome to Prince Manor." He said walking briskly up to the door and unlocking it, he turned to see the three children struggling with their bags; Severus smirked and watched them for a few minutes before levitating them into the house. The trio walked into the house and were amazed,  
"I thought it'd be much darker than this. You know, black, green, purple." Scarlett said walking around. Severus rolled his eyes at the remark but said nothing,  
"Stay here. I need to go check some things." He instructed and walked up the stairs.  
"This place is beautiful." Harry said timidly, he was unsure whether or not Severus could hear him, Harry felt extremely timid around him because he looked really scary.  
Scarlett nodded "Yeah," she said looking at a portrait "Hello Sir." She said and the man on the portrait turned to her,  
"Oh hello there my dear! You must be Scarlett Lawton, am I right? Well of course I'm right, can't miss those physiques. Yes, you look a lot like your father." The portrait babbled looking Scarlett over a few times, he looked like a nice man, he had grey hair and a white beard and crinkles appeared in the corners of his eyes when he smiled,  
"Yes, I'm Scarlett Lawton. Who are you?" she asked frowning, she couldn't see a plaque anywhere stating his name,  
"I am Charles!" he announced proudly putting his hand over his heart,  
"Do you have a last name?" Draco asked walking up to the portrait slowly,  
"Ah, Draco Malfoy. I have heard a lot about you. Good, all good, don't worry. I think that you are a very brave boy to be in Slytherin and befriend Gryffindor's." The portrait said bowing his head to Draco who blushed,  
"And to answer your question young child, I did have a last name. Yes, long ago, I'm afraid I do not remember what it is. These days I can barely remember my _first _name!" Charles chuckled and Harry walked forwards, Charles stopped and stared at Harry,  
"Goodness gracious me. Harry _Potter_!" Charles exclaimed putting his hand over his mouth, Harry nodded and smiled,  
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Harry! I... uh... I would shake your hand if I could, however I cannot." He said sadly, "But do not fear! Nothing keeps good old Charles down for long!" he said cheerfully and all three of them smiled at him, they spun around as they heard footsteps coming down the stairs,  
"I see you have met Charles," Snape said and Charles grinned and waved at Severus who rolled his eyes, "I have taken your belongings to your rooms. Now follow me and I will show you where they are." He continued walking back up the stairs followed by the trio.  
"The rooms each have an ensuite. I expect you to be ready for bed by nine thirty. No later." He said and stopped at a door with a green snake on it,  
"Draco, this is your room," He said and Draco nodded. Harry's eyes widened at the sight of it, it was gigantic, "As you see it has the Slytherin colours." Severus smirked and Draco smiled at him, Severus felt that warm feeling in his chest again.  
"I shall leave you here to put your things away, Draco." Severus said and carried on walking with Scarlett and Harry trailing behind, Scarlett because she was in awe and Harry because his leg was hurting again,  
"Scarlett, this is your room." He said opening the door and Scarlett gasped in delight, it was perfect; it looked exactly the same as Draco's except it was the colour that she loved the most,  
"Scarlett," She said softly and Severus walked in the room and nodded towards her luggage, "Oh right, I'll put it away now." She said still in awe at her room,  
Harry chewed his lip as he followed Severus down the corridor to the next room,  
"Your room, Mr Potter," Severus said opening the door, he watched Harry's eyes go wide then fill with tears. He frowned and walked in after Harry who just stood in the middle of the room, he quickly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and turned to face the Professor,  
"I will put my things away, Sir. Thank you." Harry said and Severus nodded his head and left the room confused, why did the boy start crying? He went downstairs and was stopped by Charles,  
"You want to keep an eye on Harry, Sev." The portrait said just as Severus was about to walk into the living room, he spun on his heel and folded his arms,  
"What do you mean?" he asked quietly, his eyebrow raised.  
"His past is dark." Charles replied darkly, his eyes going darker in colour,  
"Again, what do you mean?" Severus repeated the question but Charles didn't say anything more, he didn't even move, just occasionally blinked.  
Severus rolled his eyes and walked into the living room, he sat in his long forgotten armchair and began reading a book, but it was no use, all he could think about was that child. He rested his head on his hand and stared into the fire, but his thoughts were soon interrupted by a figure at the door,  
"Hi, Uncle Sev," Draco said half-smiling, he still didn't completely trust that Severus wouldn't send him back to his mother and father, "I've finished putting my things away."  
Severus smiled at Draco and gestured for him to sit on the sofa opposite him,  
"Sir," Draco said quietly,  
"Yes, Draco?" Severus replied shifting in his chair into a more comfortable position,  
"Are you sure that you still want to look after me?" he asked and Severus looked shocked, that wasn't the question he was expecting, he was expecting the child to ask if he could play Quidditch or go outside or something.  
"Yes, why do you ask?" he asked and Draco shrugged looking away into the fire,  
"Draco, I promised I would look after you. I keep my promises." Severus replied softly and Draco nodded even though he still wasn't entirely sure.  
Draco decided he would be good for Severus for the whole Christmas break, he didn't want to risk being sent back to his 'home'.  
"Thank you, Sir. I think I'm going to check on Scarlett and Harry." Draco said quietly and Severus nodded and begun reading again.

* * *

Scarlett had just finished putting her things away when Draco walked in, she spun around and smiled,  
"Hi Draco. You finished too?" she asked closing her wardrobe,  
"Yeah, I guess we'd better check on Harry." Draco smiled and they walked to Harry's room. Scarlett knocked on the door,  
"Come in." Came a sad voice, they opened the door to see Harry sitting on the bed staring at a ripped, disgusting shirt,  
"What's that, Harry?" Scarlett asked and as she walked closer, she could see Harry's trunk was full of clothes that looked the same,  
"Harry, are those your clothes? What happened to them? I think we need to ask Uncle Sev if we can go to a clothes shop." Draco asked eying Harry's trunk,  
"These are the only clothes I have." Harry replied quietly, Scarlett and Draco looked at each other confused,  
"What do you mean the only clothes you have?" Scarlett asked and sat on the bed next to Harry, Draco sat the opposite side,  
"These are the clothes my Aunt gives me. They are my cousin's old clothes." Harry replied sighing and putting the shirt behind him on the bed; Scarlett turned and picked it back up, it was absolutely revolting.  
"H-Harry does your Aunt and Uncle... hurt you in any way?" Draco asked standing up and facing Harry who looked up at him tearfully, the answer was clear.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Merry Christmas/Christmas Eve!**

* * *

Draco paced Harry's bedroom, Harry was sobbing silently on the bed and Scarlett was comforting him,  
"You need to tell someone Harry." Draco said softly and Harry's eyes went wide and he shook his head,  
"No, they will think that I'm lying. Besides, who exactly am I going to tell? I can't tell Professor Snape, he hates me, he wouldn't care." Harry said wiping his eyes. Draco thought and then to Scarlett,  
"You don't know that." Draco sighed and Scarlett nodded,  
"I'm sure Uncle Sev would listen to you." She said and Harry shook his head. She sighed and watched Draco pace around.  
Draco frowned and sat on the floor in front of them both, "I don't know then. But please Harry, promise me you'll tell someone soon."  
Harry nodded but inside he was shaking his head, of course he wouldn't tell anyone.  
"We need to get you some clothes." Draco said grimacing at his trunk full of rags; Harry sighed and turned to close his trunk.  
Scarlett bit her nail, "We can sneak out tonight." She said quietly and both boys looked at her as though she'd gone mad,  
"But what if-" Harry started to say an excuse, but was cut off at Scarlett shook her head and stood up,  
"Tonight." She said sternly and they both sighed, looks like they were going on another 'adventure'.

* * *

It was dark outside and Scarlett crept out of her bedroom after she had gotten her clothes back on, she had a feeling that Severus was deeply asleep as she opened her door and tip toed down to Draco's room. Just as she was about to open the door, it opened itself and Draco stood there in his clothes, he had promised to be good, but if they were quick enough and Uncle Sev didn't wake up, they were okay, right?  
Draco waited at the top of the stairs for his friends; he had given Harry a black hoodie and some jeans, "Are you ready to go?" Draco whispered and they both nodded, it was pitch black but they could see a couple of feet in front of them,  
"We need to walk there. I think I know the way." Draco whispered and again they nodded. They reached the front door and Harry turned to see Charles was sleeping.  
"_Alohamora_." Scarlett hissed pointing her wand at the door and they heard the lock click, all three of them stepped outside and closed the door silently.  
All three of them looked at each other and sprinted down the path that led to the house and onto the empty houseless road. Luckily for them, Severus had forgotten to put on the wards that alerted him if someone left Prince Manor.

* * *

Draco turned the corner followed by Harry and Scarlett, there was nobody around, they had walked for what seemed to be hours but it was only mere minutes, they noticed a path across the road. Harry looked down the road and shivered, it was awfully eerie. The paths were lit by dim lampposts, and they were quite far apart from the next set of lampposts,  
"Aha!" Draco said, the place looked very familiar and Draco walked down a dark path, followed by his friends who were terrified. Scarlett was regretting her idea,  
"H-Hey maybe we should go back." Harry suggested and Draco turned around and shook his head,  
"You need new clothes, Uncle Sev has seen most of my clothes so he'll know immediately that you're wearing my clothes." Draco sighed and turned to carry on walking, they reached the end of the path and a tree stood in front of them,  
"How odd." Scarlett said her eyebrow raised, Draco shrugged and pressed his hand firmly onto the tree,  
"Hold on tight!" he said before grabbing Scarlett's hand, Harry grabbed Scarlett's free hand and they felt as though they we're spinning at a very high speed, before they knew it they we're stood in the middle of Diagon Alley, though it looked different at night, it was better lit than the roads outside Severus' house.  
"Follow me." Draco said and walked quickly through Diagon Alley. There we're only a few people here and there but not many. They followed Draco for a while before they stopped in front of a shop they had never seen before, in the display it had ordinary looking clothes, _muggle_-looking clothes, the light inside was still on and the sign said 'Open.',  
"This, is Madam Rosa's." Draco smiled before opening the door and entering.  
Scarlett gasped at the inside; the way the clothes were displayed looked _very _muggle-like. She knew about muggle shops because she had been to a few when she was younger.  
They heard a high pitched giggle and turned around to see a very motherly looking woman who was wearing an floral apron and pink dress smiling gently at them,  
"Draco, my dear... Scarlett Lawton, and Harry Potter!" she squealed in delight, she had waiting a long time to finally meet the Boy-Who-Lived. She held out her hand and Harry shook it blushing.  
"Madam Rosa, we require _lots _of clothes for Harry here. You see he expected to be returning home for Christmas, so he doesn't have nearly enough clothes, however changes had to be made and now he's staying with Scarlett. We need _lots _of clothes. Just put up a tab and I promise I'll pay you back later." Draco said smiling widely,  
"Oh of course dear! No problem. Now, Harry, let's get you measured." She smiled warmly and waved her wand. Lots of tape measures were measuring Harry,  
"My my, you need some meat on you Harry dear." She said shaking her head in disbelief; Harry's measurements were that of a seven year old, not a twelve year old.  
Harry just shrugged in reply and Draco stared at Harry, he did look very skinny and malnourished.  
"Alright Harry dear, go pick some clothes and I will magic them down to fit your sizes." She grinned and Draco grabbed Harry's hand and led him down the aisles of clothes. Scarlett followed behind occasionally spotting a nice shirt,  
"Madam Rosa, do you think that you could measure me too and open a tab, the clothes in here are really amazing." Scarlett asked and Madam Rosa blushed, she rarely had compliments about her shop, especially by pure-bloods who hated anything to do with Muggles.  
"Yes, dear. Just remember to pay me back." She chuckled and Scarlett smiled at her. Madam Rosa waved her wand and the measuring tapes measured her too,  
"Another skinny child, you need to eat more," She sighed shaking her head and Scarlett smiled sheepishly, "alright, go choose your clothes, dear."  
Scarlett smiled as she walked off and chose _many _clothes, she peered through a gap in the aisles and saw Harry being dragged by Draco who was shoving clothes onto his arm, she giggled and proceeded to choose clothes.  
When she finished she met with Harry and Draco and paid for her items, Harry and Draco weren't even paying attention so she just rolled her eyes,  
"Boys, eh?" Madam Rosa whispered quietly and Scarlett nodded,  
"Tell me about it," She replied rolling her eyes and Madam Rosa smiled and handed Scarlett a shrunk bag of clothes, "they will resize to normal after you say 'Scarlett Lawton'." Scarlett nodded and put the bag in her jacket pocket.  
She turned to see Draco and Harry were waiting by the door for her,  
"Thank you Madam Rosa. I assure you I'll be back soon!" she said over her shoulder as she left the shop.

* * *

It was just beginning to get light outside when the three children returned to Prince Manor, it was still really dark inside but they managed to sneak up to their rooms and get changed into their pyjama's and climb back into their beds. Draco and Scarlett immediately fell asleep but Harry lay staring up at the ceiling, he was afraid to go to sleep in case he had a nightmare and woke up screaming. Harry sighed as he turned many times trying to get into a comfortable position when he just gave up and walked into the ensuite.  
Harry looked in the mirror and sighed, he looked like a zombie. Harry took off his new pyjamas, he turned on the shower and stepped inside and sighed in content as the warm water hit him, it had been a while since he'd had a _proper _shower, of course he had had ones at Hogwarts, but they were short because other people needed to use the showers too and Harry didn't want to risk a boy walking in and seeing all his scars and bruises.  
Harry, trying to be as quiet as possible, washed his hair and let a few tears come out before it turned into a full sob, Harry heard a knock on the door and his eyes went wide, he turned off the shower and was out quickly. He grabbed the towel that he put on the top of the toilet seat,  
"Y-Yes?" Harry called out and wrapped the towel around himself, it was quite big for him so luckily it covered the scars on his arms and legs,  
"Mr Potter, breakfast will be in half an hour." Snape said softly, he had heard the child sobbing and it worried him, he didn't know why he was worried about Harry, no, Potter. He was Lily's son, and that was why he cared, his dear Lily flower.  
"Yes Sir." Replied Harry, it was clear he'd been crying and Severus swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and pushed the thoughts of Lily away as he walked back downstairs, he had already woken up Draco and Scarlett. He was quite shocked that they too were awake, usually children would just roll over and tell the person that woke them up where to go.  
Severus sat at the table as a house elf ran around putting plates of food on the table, he picked up the newspaper and read the stories, none of them really catching his eye but he read them anyway.  
Harry peered into the room to see Severus reading the paper, he didn't really want to be on his own with a Professor that hated him, but he didn't want to be rude so he quietly walked into the room,  
"Good morning, Sir." Harry said quietly and Severus looked up to see Harry,  
"Good morning, Potter. I suggest you sit down and eat breakfast before it gets too cold." Snape replied taking a bite of toast, and returning to his paper.  
Harry sat down and looked at the plate of food in front of him; for any other child it would be a normal breakfast, but for Harry it looked like there was loads of food on the plate, he struggled as he tried not to eat too quickly. Harry had eaten barely a quarter of the food before he felt really full; he had now started to push the food around on his plate.  
Severus peered at Harry and looked confused as he saw the child was clearly full, but he had barely eaten anything, he sighed before clicking his fingers and ordering the house elf to take his plate away just as Scarlett and Draco entered the kitchen. Draco ate all his food, because even though his father hit him he had always given Draco food. Scarlett however did the same as Harry, but she ate half of the food on the plate. Severus noticed how both children had barely eaten the food and was worried.  
"I would like you to start your homework; you will do it every day for one hour. Seeing as yesterday was our first day, you only have two more days of 'torture' as you children call it." Snape said aiming the last part at Scarlett, who turned crimson and nodded.  
The three children went to their rooms and did their homework, they each managed to complete two assignments, Potions and Charms.  
"Why can't you three do your homework this well at school?" Snape smirked as he read the last story on the newspaper,  
"Uncle Sev can we play on our brooms?" Draco asked quietly, his father never let him play on his broom at home, he could only use it at other people's houses,  
Severus put down the newspaper and looked at Draco,  
"You may. Watch the wards though, if you go too far or too high I will know." He said sternly and Draco nodded,  
"Yes, Sir." Draco sighed with relief; he had expected Severus to say no.  
"C'mon." Scarlett said and they ran out into the garden.

* * *

After they finished flying their brooms they headed inside for tea,  
"You will have a bath after tea and then go to bed. Tomorrow is Christmas day." Snape informed them and they all looked at him confused,  
"No it isn't." Scarlett said frowning,  
"Yes it is. Look at the calendar." Snape said pointing to the calendar and to their shock, tomorrow was indeed Christmas Day,  
"But I thought that Christmas Day was three days away." Draco said clearly confused,  
"Don't you children remember sleeping for a whole day?" Severus asked frowning.  
Their eyes went wide and they shook their heads,  
"How odd. But yes you slept for a whole day." He replied and the three of them looked at each other very confused,  
"Scarlett your parent's won't be back until Boxing Day, so you are spending Christmas day with us." Severus said smiling slightly, but the children looked very worried, when had they slept for a whole day?


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Merry Christmas to all of you! I hope you have had a great Christmas, sorry this is really short, but I didn't have long to write it because I have to be 'sociable' hehe.**

* * *

Harry had again stayed up all night in fear that he would have a nightmare and wake them all up. He looked at the clock that was on the table next to his bed, it was 6:30 in the morning and he was absolutely drained. He got out of bed and his eyes started to droop as he made his way into the bathroom to have a shower.  
As he got out of the shower he tripped and hit his hand off the sink, there was a loud crack and Harry felt a burning pain in his finger yet he didn't cry or even scream, he just sighed and with much difficulty, managed to put on his clothes.

* * *

"Sir?" Harry called out quietly into the darkness; he had been brave enough to go downstairs even though it was pitch black, he had a bad feeling about going downstairs though, he felt like he would get in trouble,  
"Sir?" He called out again even quieter as tears threatened to fall; his finger was really starting to hurt, this time he heard someone mumbling and then a light behind him, he turned around to see Severus walking downstairs. Harry had woke him up! He was surely in _big_ trouble.  
Harry spun around and hid behind the sofa, Severus walked into the room and frowned, he was sure he had heard Harry – no, Potter - calling him from down here.  
"Potter?" Severus yawned and when he heard no reply, he turned around ready to go back to bed when he heard a gasp behind him and saw Harry's foot.  
"Potter, what are you playing at?" he asked frowning and walked over to where Harry was, the child was holding his hand and crying,  
"What's wrong?" Severus asked kneeling in front of Harry who looked into his eyes tearfully, his eyes were just like Lily's,  
"I've... br-broken my finger." Harry sobbed and rubbed his eyes that we're hurting because he hadn't slept,  
"Merlin's beard Harry why didn't you come and get me?" Severus asked frowning, Harry looked up at him in shock when he called him Harry, he had called it him before but only in a hurry,  
"I didn't want to wake you up Sir." Harry replied truthfully and Snape shook his head, he thought Harry was a selfish child but seemingly not.  
"Nonsense, child. You've broken your finger, I wouldn't have minded." He replied whilst waving his wand, a bandage went over Harry's forefinger and middle finger and he didn't even cry out in pain, he just had tears rolling down his face.

* * *

"All done." Snape yawned and Harry wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, Severus studied Harry carefully and his gaze fell on Harry's arm, the sleeve had rolled up and underneath were bruises and faint pink lines, scars.  
"Harry, who did this to you?" Severus asked and Harry looked down at his arm and burst into tears, Snape sighed and rubbed Harry's back, he felt Harry's breathing speed up,  
"Harry, calm down, you'll have a panic attack." He said and soon enough Harry's breathing went back to normal.  
"It was... m-my Uncle." Harry revealed and Severus felt that pain in his chest again, and anger, so much anger, his Lily's child, abused.  
Severus did something he never thought he would do, he hugged Harry and felt Harry return the hug and soon he had a wet shoulder. Both of them not noticing the two smiling children who were watching them.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Sev is rather OOC at the end of this chapter, but I like it.**

* * *

~A few hours later~

The three children we're sat in their pyjama's in the living room, Severus had gone out somewhere and told them to open their presents without him since he knew they we're really excited, he had in fact gone to Dumbledore to inform him of Harry's state.  
Severus strode down the corridor towards Dumbledore's office with his robes billowing out behind him, he wasn't angry with Dumbledore, he was furious.  
"I do not have time to guess what pathetic Muggle sweet Dumbledore has chosen this time so LET ME PAST." He growled and he swore the gargoyle looked at him terrified, he stepped onto the stairs and tapped his foot as it slowly rose up higher, as soon as it reached the top he marched up to the door and knocked loudly,  
"Come in, Severus." He heard Dumbledore say, he charged in quickly and banged his fist on the table, if it wasn't a serious matter he would have burst out laughing at Dumbledore, he looked like a deer in headlights,  
"Why was I not informed of Ha- Mr Potters state!" He shouted and Dumbledore raised his hands slowly as if surrendering,  
"We did not think it was necessary, how did you find out?" Albus asked curiously watching Severus pace the room,  
"Not necessary! NOT NECESSARY! Harry Potter is in _my _living room at the moment opening his Christmas Presents with Scarlett and Draco!" Severus bellowed and Albus frowned,  
"Why is he there? We thought he would be with Scarlett and her parents." He asked getting out of his chair,  
"Oliver and Elya are out on an errand at the moment." Severus sighed and collapsed onto a nearby chair,  
"Well when are they returning?" Albus asked and Severus sighed again and put his head in his hands,  
"Maybe a week... a year... five years. I don't know, they didn't even say what the errand was. They just said they don't know how long they're going to be."  
"Oh dear." Albus said just as an owl flew in through the window, Albus took the envelope and handed it to Severus "For you, my boy." He said curiously watching as Severus opened it his eyes went wide and he handed it to Albus who read it out loud,  
"Dear Severus,  
It's us, Elya and Oliver. We are going to be gone for much longer than we expected meaning Harry and Scarlett have nowhere to go, this is where you come in; we require you to adopt them both. Let them both know we love them very much, we know you'll bring them up to be good children. We will send you monthly payments so you can buy them school supplies and whatnot. We will contact you at a later time too explaining everything.  
Love Elya and Oliver." Dumbledore read, he looked up at Severus with his eyes twinkling madly,  
he walked over to a cupboard and pulled out two sheets of paper and handed them to Severus who looked like he was _trying _to look annoyed,  
"Oh stop it. We both know you want those children to be yours more than anything." Albus smiled slightly and Severus glared at him,  
"Hm, meddling old coot." He smirked and then sighed as he signed the papers, "Three children running around my house."  
"Oh do stop moaning... Lemon drop?"

* * *

"Here Harry, this is for you from me and Scarlett." Draco smiled and handed Harry a present that was wrapped up in paper which had golden snitches on it, Harry looked at them in surprise,  
"A present for me?" he asked confused, he didn't expect to be getting presents, the Dursley's never gave him presents at Christmas time or his birthday,  
"Of course, silly!" Scarlett grinned and watched in amusement as Harry tore off the paper in almost under a second,  
Harry stared in awe at the Quidditch gloves and he felt a huge grin appearing on his face,  
"They were your fathers." Scarlett smiled sadly and Harry hugged them both.  
"Thank you." Harry whispered and they both smiled.  
Harry turned to his left and picked up two small presents, one was slightly larger than the other though, "Here you go, I hope you like them." Harry said and started to panic a little, were the presents too silly?  
Scarlett opened hers carefully and it was a black box, she opened it and inside was a necklace, it had a mermaid on it and she was brushing her hair whilst sitting on a rock. She practically flung herself at Harry to hug him and he sighed with relief.  
"I love it! Thank you!" she cried and took it out of the box and put it on, "Thank you Harry." She smiled and they both watched as Draco opened his present, they couldn't see it but Draco could and he grinned,  
"It's a Dragon," He said and took off the rest of the paper revealing a beautiful white Dragon, it occasionally flapped its wings too, "Thank you Harry." He said and hugged Harry tightly.  
"This is for you Draco." Scarlett said handing Draco a present which he immediately tore open to their amusement,  
"Oh wow!" he exclaimed and took it out of the box, it was a ring with a green jewel on it, Draco put it on and grinned, "I love it, thank you." He said hugging Scarlett,  
"We each have one, this one is mine," Scarlett said opening a box next to her and putting her ring on, it was a golden colour and her name started appearing magically on the inside of the ring, it had engraved mermaids and swirls on it, "mine is orangey gold to match my... err... eyes and tail, and Harry this one is yours," she smiled handing Harry a box, he opened it carefully and smiled as he saw that his was Gryffindor red, he put it on and they watched as their rings went brighter and then back to their normal colours, they each had the same design but slightly different things, Scarlett's had mermaids on, Harry's had snitches on and Draco's had dragons on.  
"No matter where we are, we will always be able to find each other. It's a simple spell, watch." Scarlett said picking up her wand and pointing it at her ring, "_Reperio meus anima socium Draco_." She said loudly and they watched as a little arrow came out of her ring and pointed to Draco, she shuffled around a bit and they watched as the little arrow always moved to where Draco was,  
"All you have to do is say the name of the person." She said and Draco picked up his wand,  
"_Reperio meus anima socium Harry_." Draco said and a little arrow came out of his ring and pointed to Harry,  
"Wow that's amazing," Harry said and looked at his ring, "Thanks Scarlett." He said and Draco nodded, they watched as Scarlett just tapped her ring twice and the arrow disappeared, Draco also did the same thing.  
"A friend of the family brought me them. He told me to give them to my friends when I'm older." Scarlett smiled and they all shrieked as the fireplace turned green and Severus walked through, and sat on the couch behind Draco,  
"Are you alright?" Scarlett asked curiously and Severus walked over to her and sat down next to her,  
"Scarlett, your parents aren't coming back for a while." He said and watched as many emotions displayed on her face; sadness, worry, fear, anger, anxiousness.  
"Why?" she asked and bit her lip hoping they weren't dead or something like that,  
"They aren't dead. They've gone to run an errand. They're going to be got for a while, I don't know exactly how long. But long enough that I've had to... adopt you and Harry." He said and watched as Scarlett sighed with relief then looked up in shock about the adoption.  
"That means we have to stay here every holiday?" she asked and Severus nodded, she felt that she was grinning and Harry was too,  
"Well I suppose it's not _that _bad then." Scarlett smirked and Severus rolled his eyes at her joke which Draco and Harry found rather amusing,  
"I have to go and brew a potion, I want you all to get dressed in your best outfits and then we can have Christmas Dinner and maybe I've got another present for you each." He said and smirked in amusement as their eyes went wide and they ran up the stairs, followed by the slamming of their doors and the sound of showers starting.

* * *

Scarlett looked in her wardrobe and grinned, she had been waiting until she could finally wear her red dress, she put it on and looked in the mirror, it fit perfectly, it had a collar and a belt around the waist then flared out slightly, it went down to just above her knees. She sat on the bed and pulled on her tights and after many attempts they felt comfortable, she slipped on her black shoes and black blazer and looked in the mirror. She looked like a ballerina as she twirled around in her dress. She tied her hair up in a neat bun and put on a headband which had fabric antlers and lights on it, she smirked at the headband as she turned the lights on with a little button at the back and then she walked out of the room and peeked down the stairs to see Harry and Draco in long sleeved shirts and black trousers, she took a deep breath and walked down the stairs and watched in amusement as they both stared at her,  
"You look nice." Draco said looking her up and down and smirking at her headband,  
"Thanks!" she grinned and kicked off her shoes and skidded around on the wooden floor, soon all three of them were skidding around and crashing into each other in a fit of laughter.  
"Stop that at once you could cause an injury." Severus scowled walking down the stairs and seeing his children... he stopped on the staircase and stared at them, they were _his _children, he grabbed hold of the railing to stop himself from falling as it practically hit him that they were _his _children.  
"You alright there, old man?" Draco smirked and they all burst out laughing Severus glared at them and ran down the stairs after them, they laughed and shrieked as they ran around the house hiding from Severus who had put an invisibility charm on himself.  
He watched the three children huddle together in a corner giggling, when Severus was right in front of them he took off the charm and started tickling them all as they laughed and tried to get away. Severus realised what he was doing, he was being _nice_, but it felt good so he didn't even care, the sound of laughter filled the house and it was the nicest sound Severus had ever heard.

* * *

**A/N: **  
**I love this Severus very much... Also I made a Polyvore set of what Scarlett's outfit looks like and what I think she looks like, /ZMz0qg**  
**I love you all! Hope you had a good Christmas.**


	21. Chapter 21

After dinner the children and Severus felt very full, the children had decided to put on Lilo and Stitch, they were so intrigued at the look of the muggle-made movie that they didn't notice Severus had left, he sat in his armchair by the fire in one of the many living rooms and stared deep into the fire as he sipped his whiskey.  
Many thoughts were rushing through his mind, how was he going to manage _three _children?  
He had never been a father to anyone, and now he was suddenly a father to three twelve year olds. He sat up in his chair as an owl came through the window and handed him a newspaper, Severus gave the owl some nuts and put three galleons in its pouch and the owl flew away.  
He picked up the newspaper and stared at it for a long time, he couldn't believe what he was seeing, a familiar face on the cover, Lucius Malfoy with the bold headline of 'Death Eater caught and sent to Azkaban.'  
No, that wasn't right, surely not? Severus read the article over and over, he couldn't believe it. They were finally going to lock Lucius away. Just as Severus put down the paper the fireplace glowed green and out stepped Narcissa looking upset.  
"Have you seen the paper?" she asked softly and Severus nodded his head putting down his glass of whiskey and she half-smiled,  
"I can't believe it." She said and sighed, Severus was rather shocked, he thought she would be a weeping disaster.  
"Severus I need to discuss something with you," She said sitting down; her expression had changed to a look of sadness "It's only a matter of time before they lock me away too. I want you to adopt Draco. I think it would be best." She said and watched as Severus nodded sharply for her to continue,  
"I know you are looking after Scarlett Lawton and Harry Potter." She said and Severus' eyes went wide and he opened his mouth as if to say something but she shook her head "Lucius and I never wanted to be on the Dark Side and I know you don't either. I promise not to tell anyone about Scarlett and Harry." She said and stood up, she clasped her hands together and turned to face Severus, "After all, they are our only hope of winning the war." She smiled sadly and apparated presumably back to Malfoy Manor.  
Severus was completely stunned, Lucius never wanted to be on the Dark Side? Well, who could blame him really; he sighed as he drank the rest of his whiskey and pushed the thoughts to the back of his head. He groaned in annoyance as the fireplace once again turned green and Dumbledore walked through holding papers that looked the same as Scarlett and Harry's adoption ones, except this one said Draco Malfoy on the top of it,  
"Narcissa told me everything." Dumbledore said as his gaze fell upon the newspaper with Lucius on the cover, "I can't believe that they didn't want to be on the Dark Side all that time." He added and Severus nodded and looked at the adoption papers, Dumbledore had a twinkle in his eye as he handed Severus the papers which he instantly signed without second thought.  
"Well, my boy, give these presents to the children. I'll be off now to hand these papers to the Ministry. I will see you at another date to arrange the Adoption ritual." Dumbledore said reaching into his pockets and pulling out three small boxes and apparated away.  
"Hm. I doubt this will be a Christmas I'll ever forget." Severus sighed and put out the fire, he didn't want random people coming through. He walked out of the room, leaving the newspaper on the table.

* * *

Draco wandered through the corridors of Prince Manor searching for Severus, after about five minutes Draco just walked around aimlessly adventuring; he turned a corner to see a door slightly open and walked up to it, he knocked on the door and after receiving no answer he pushed it and walked into the room, it had a fireplace on the far end, bookshelves covering the walls and two armchairs with a table in the middle of them.  
Draco walked up to the table after noticing it had the newspaper on it, he walked closer and closer until he picked up the newspaper and looked at the front page, he went white as he saw his father on the picture and he slowly read the article. It stated that Lucius had been caught and sent to Azkaban for basically being a Death Eater and that they were searching for his mother.  
Draco frowned at the part about his mother but he didn't feel upset or angry, his mother knew about the abuse because she had seen his father hit him before but she never said anything or told his father to stop. Draco felt that his mother and father both deserved to go to Azkaban, he felt bad about feeling that way but it was true.  
He put the paper back on the table and realised that there was an empty glass on the table too, Severus must had just left the room. He quickly walked out of the room and back to Scarlett and Harry who were still watching Lilo and Stitch; he was relieved when Severus walked into the room and hadn't noticed Draco had only just come back from 'adventuring'.

* * *

Severus walked over to the television and turned it off just as the credits came on the screen, he had no idea how to tell them all about the seriousness of the adoption but he planned to do it now,  
"That movie was great!" Scarlett grinned and noticed Severus looked deep in thought "What's the matter?" she added and got up off the floor, she sat on the sofa next to Harry and Draco as Severus just stared deep in thought before he began to speak,  
"I've... had some sudden circumstances where I have agreed to adopt you three. Do you all know what an adoption is?" He asked, he didn't know any other way to tell them that he had adopted them, all three of them nodded but looked unsure,  
"It means you have to look after us, right?" Draco asked, he'd never really understood adoption and was glad that by the looks on his friends faces that he wasn't the only one,  
"It means that I am legally your parent." Severus said quietly and watched as Scarlett jumped off the sofa and looked bewildered,  
"But I have parents!" Scarlett exclaimed folding her arms, Draco and Harry just sat on the sofa quietly waiting for Severus to continue explaining,  
"I know. But they are away at work and won't return for a long time, they asked if I would adopt you." Severus sighed and Scarlett slowly sat back down onto the sofa,  
"So... You're like... our..." Scarlett trailed off but they all knew what she was going to say as she looked down at her feet,  
"Yes. I am." Severus replied, he certainly hadn't expected them to think of him as a Father, but he didn't mind.  
Scarlett nodded silently and then to Harry and Draco, "And they are my... brothers." She said and looked back at Severus who was nodding his head,  
"If you wish them to be then yes, they are your brothers." He said folding his arms, he watched the three children – _his_ children.  
"Sir, does that mean I won't be going back to the D-Dursley's?" Harry asked quietly and he seemed to look nervous,  
"You will never see them horrible people again," Severus said reassuringly but Harry looked unconvinced until Severus added "I promise."  
Harry felt a weight lifted off his shoulders at the thought of never seeing the Dursley's again.


	22. Chapter 22

**~A few days later~**

It was very early in the morning when Scarlett decided to explore the house, she quietly got out of bed and put her red nightgown on over her new pyjama's that Dumbledore had brought them each, hers had Mermaids on, Harry's had Snitches on and Draco's had Dragons on. None of them realised that the pattern looked exactly the same at the pattern on their rings, which they wore all day and night. She head out the door.

* * *

Scarlett had been exploring the house for a while now and was about to go back to bed when she saw a door out the corner of her eye that interested her, there was nothing special about the door, it looked exactly the same as all the other doors, plain white.  
She turned the doorknob and pushed the door slightly peeking around it, she frowned at the room, it was very dull and grey, she was about to leave when her eyes adjusted and she noticed a mirror in the back.  
She pushed the door open fully not realising that it made a loud creaking noise, she slowly walked towards the mirror and stared at it, she didn't know why but she felt the urge to call out to her mother,  
"Mum." She whispered and she smiled as her mum appeared next to her, she turned her head but she wasn't there, she looked back and her mum smiled at her, Scarlett stepped closer to the mirror and saw her Dad appear too, she sat down on the floor and smiled as her father's reassuring voice came into her ears,  
"Stay strong. We love you." He said gently and Scarlett closed her eyes and smiled,  
"When are you coming back?" she replied with her eyes still closed and she opened one eye as her mother spoke to her,  
"There's no easy way to say this my darling, but we will not be returning until you finish your last year in Hogwarts." Her mother replied sadly and Scarlett just nodded, she felt a rush of anger and sadness come over her but there was nothing that she could do about it.  
"We love you, Scarlett. Be good for your dad Severus." Her father's voice faded and Scarlett fully opened her eyes to see herself, Harry, Draco and Severus walking together and laughing, she laughed along with them as her eyes filled with tears and grinned as she watched the same scene over and over again of the four of them laughing together.

* * *

Severus woke up to silence, so he immediately knew something was wrong, he put on his nightgown and walked out of the room, he knocked on Scarlett, Draco and Harry's doors but neither of them answered, he pulled his wand out,  
"Point me Draco Malfoy." He said, he had a feeling that wherever Draco was, they were too.  
He eventually stopped at a door and looked at where he was standing in the corridor and his eyes went wide, they were in the room where the Mirror of Erised was. He opened the door and his fears were confirmed, Scarlett was sat on the floor smiling at the mirror, he looked to the left side of the room and noticed that Harry and Draco were just watching Scarlett and frowning, they hadn't looked into the mirror.  
"Boys, come here, don't look into the mirror. I will explain later." He hissed and the two boys walked over to him and frowned at Scarlett,  
"Can you see it?" Scarlett giggled and clapped her hands,  
"Scarlett, what do you see?" Severus asked as he stepped into the room and closed the door,  
"Us! We're laughing and walking!" she smiled as her mother spoke to her,  
"Family." Her mother whispered to her and she smiled as she got off the floor,  
"Family, it's us as a family." Scarlett said dreamily and Severus' eyebrows shot up, the thing that Scarlett desired the most was the four of them to be a family.  
"Look, here's my mother and father, and now we're walking over to my dad." Scarlett smiled and traced her finger over the glass,  
"If you're with your father how are you walking over to your dad?" Draco asked and Scarlett smiled and placed her hand on the glass.  
"Severus is my dad now." She said and Severus' eyes went wide, he certainly hadn't expected that, he was too busy getting used to the word 'Dad' that he never noticed Draco and Harry look into the mirror and walk forward, Severus was brought out of his thoughts and saw the three children standing next to each other smiling,  
"I see the same thing, except I see _my _mother and father walking me over to you, Dad." Harry smiled and Draco nodded,  
"Me too." He grinned and Severus frowned, he'd never experienced three people have the same vision before, but he had heard of it, surely the three of them weren't soul partners? He would certainly speak to them later about it.  
"Come here," Severus said sternly and after much struggle the three children looked away from the mirror, "That is the Mirror of Erised. It shows you what you most desire." He added and the three children nodded,  
"Now, I want you to never come in here again. Go get washed and dressed, then we will have breakfast." He said sternly and watched the children run off.  
He went weak at the knees as they left, they had called him _Dad_.

* * *

Scarlett got dressed into some jeans and a red jumper; she had just finished plaiting her hair when she remembered that she had called Severus... Dad.  
She paced the room, it felt right though, Severus being her Dad and she knew her Mother and Father didn't mind. But was it too soon? Severus wouldn't mind... would he?  
Scarlett sat on the bed and sighed when there was a knock on the door, she stayed silent hoping that whoever it was would just go away and leave her alone, she got up and sat by the window but she could sense that whoever it was, was still standing at the door.  
"Who is it?" she asked quietly hoping it wasn't her Da- Severus. But there was no luck as a deep silky voice muttered a spell,  
"_Alohamora_."  
Scarlett's eyes went wide as she ran across the room and put her back against the door so Severus couldn't get in, she glanced over at the chair that she could just about reach and quickly reached over to it just as Severus pushed the door hard, she fell onto the back of the chair and it really hurt, but she quickly put her hand over her mouth to stop herself from making a sound and stood up straight even though she could feel a burning pain in her side.  
Severus closed the door behind himself and saw Scarlett in the corner and he was about to ask her why she locked the door when she spoke up,  
"I thought you wouldn't want me calling you Dad. I didn't realise when I looked into the mirror that I had called you Dad, I thought you would be annoyed." She said all in one breath and Severus shook his head with a small smile on his face,  
"I don't mind at all. I came to tell you that breakfast is ready now." He replied folding his arms, and with that said he left the room.  
Scarlett collapsed onto the floor and pulled up her jumper a little bit and saw that her left hip was covered in blood, she gasped as she saw the wound was pretty big and she had dripped blood onto the carpet, she ran into the bathroom with her eyes wide and she grabbed some tissue and held it over the wound, after a few minutes she was still standing there and had had to get new tissue at least five times but the blood wouldn't stop. All she could think about was the blood on the carpet and how annoyed Severus would be with her. Just as she reached for more tissue, she collapsed onto the floor.

* * *

Draco and Harry were eating breakfast with Severus – who was reading the Daily Prophet - when they felt a tingle inside them. Something was wrong. They both looked over at Scarlett's seat and felt a pain in their side, Draco grunted and Harry bit his lip as the pain got worse and worse to the point where they had to do something quickly, as the pain intensified Draco held onto the table, his knuckles going whiter and whiter and Harry held onto the edge of the seat. What was wrong with them?  
Harry coughed and as he put his hand to his mouth he saw he had coughed up blood, he got out of the chair and so did Draco, Severus put down the paper.  
"Where are you two going?" he asked with his eyebrow raised, and the two boys looked at him,  
"Scarlett – needs help." Harry choked out before he fell to the floor, Severus immediately got out of the chair and scooped Harry up, and he ran into the living room and put Harry on one of the sofas before sprinting up the stairs to Scarlett's room, leaving Draco panting in pain next to Harry.

* * *

He opened the door and the smell of blood filled his nose, he frantically searched for her before seeing a trail of blood leading to the bathroom, he opened the door and nearly fainted himself, there was blood covering the floor.  
Scarlett lay in an awkward position with blood still pouring out of the wound on her side, he picked her up and ran to the Floo room, grabbing some Floo he threw it underneath him,  
"Hogwarts Infirmary!" he practically screeched, his daughter would die if he didn't hurry up.  
Little did he know, if she died, so would Harry and Draco.


End file.
